I wanted to put all 750,000-ish words of my teenage and YA music reviews into one absurdly massive blog post where they could quietly gather dust and cause occasional mischief to anyone who accidentally opened it. Sadly, Blogger started crashing even before I'd got past 'A,' so I had to break it down.
Here are my reviews of albums from some bands beginning with A, written for dooyoo.co.uk from 2007–2008.
My long-term plan when freshly graduated and unemployed was to review one album per artist every few days, mixed between the TV, film, book and retro game reviews, but then the site changed its payment model to favour churning over community feedback and I adapted by spamming a discography a day to get my fiver for as long as it would take to get a proper job.
Overture
The Food of Love, or Just Nice Noises?
Written on 03.09.04
Music exists in many forms and means many different things to many different people. But is music one of mankind’s most exquisite forms of art? If so, what was that Mister Blobby single about? Here I shall attempt, in soundless text, to explain. You may be beginning to see the problem inherent in music reviewing.
WHAT IS MUSIC? I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF IT
The Frankingsteins Dictionary (First Edition, in progress I expect) describes music as intentionally manipulated sounds, usually based on an identifiable rhythm, designed to evoke a response in the listener’s eardrums and brains. Music is Vangelis going crazy on a Yamaha home organ; it is also that relative knocking on your door with that irritating seven knock ditty.
Musical instruments developed as people began experimenting with new sounds, and although several musical staples such as drums, flutes and vocal cords are common to all, a number of nations innovated their own versions. Spain gave us maracas and them palm cymbal things, while Australian Aborigines were responsible for the didgeridoo, although perhaps not the wobble board.
Traditionally-minded 1979 parents dismissing their son’s interest in the Sex Pistols with the phrase “that’s not music, that’s just noise” were therefore incorrect, although percussion acts such as Stomp and Back Beat are bridging that divide somewhat. (The scrap metal scavengers of Stomp were also revolutionary of course for bringing meaning to “that’s just rubbish.”)
MUSIC AND YOU
Music is a common feature of every culture, and is one of the most popular ‘things’ (forgive me, any chance to use a relaxing general term) in the world. People listen to music to suit their mood, or to evoke emotions that they would enjoy experiencing momentarily. The popularity of ‘tearjerkers’ and other melancholy musical forms can seem a little strange at first, but people need a nice bit of sorrow in their lives. Even that hyperactive bloke who did Pee Wee’s Playhouse would probably enjoy an Opeth ballad.
Music has been composed to suit all moods possible, from the depths of despair to ecstatic happiness and blistering anger. Incorporation of music into media such as motion pictures has also led to the association of standard sounds to specific situations, notably the ominous ‘Jaws’ theme being water-related, Also Sprach Zarathustra implying the vastness of 2001-style space and that bloody ‘Psycho’ dagger stab sound. Thanks for that, Bernard Herrmann.
Musicals and operas have also provided entertainment for centuries, even infiltrating cinema with popular music-based films such as ‘Grease’ and ‘Monty Python’s the Meaning of Life.’ Although an expensive full-blown performance of Wagner’s ‘der Ring des Nibelungen’ is predominantly for hardcore fans of his music nowadays, even someone with the most casual interest in music and performance such as my mother can go and see ‘Cats.’ I’ll find out whether she liked it in the morning. And let’s not forget, without John Williams’ rousing ‘Imperial March’ theme, Darth Vader is just the seventies Green Cross Code man Dave Prowse with a cape and asthma. Music can be the basis of a full production, or simply an invaluable enhancement.
MUSIC AND ME
Music is one of my all time favourite things (along with high quality comedy and the all-time number one) but reviewing albums for a consumer website, especially those of a musical style that many readers will be unfamiliar with, has always presented a bit of a problem for myself and other writers. This is why it has been important for me to appreciate the true value of music beyond a really good guitar solo, lest my reviews be littered with feeble phonetic attempts at describing them (“diddly-diddly-diddly-wahhhhhh-wow-wow-wow-wow, runnng” et al).
To me, music is something that can be beautiful and absorbing when necessary, but also very fun and a cheap thrill when called for. Anyone who has read any of my music reviews over time will know that I like rock, but as with all of my tastes, my interest lies in more specific areas that have developed over time as offshoots of the traditional vocals-guitar-bass-drum style: musical forms commonly merge across all genres, leaving my so-called ‘rock’ album collection with its fair share of pop songs, piano melodies, orchestral overtures and jazz sessions. I do have some albums that aren’t really rock-related at all, but I’m not telling you about them.
I feel quite passionate about the music I love, but not in a crazy or perverse way. If someone tells me that they despise my musical taste I shall simply laugh, shrug and later wee through their letterbox when they’re out. Yes, that was me.
MUSIC AND THEM
But then, I am not famous, and my views on music are anything but groundbreaking. Here’s what famous people have said on the subject:
“If music be the food of love, play on” – William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
The bearded playwright clearly associated pleasant sounds with the emotion of love, but the link to eating is a bit weird. If my food makes a noise I replace the dish into the microwave and adjust to a higher setting. Shakespeare’s choice of wording seems a little odd; playing with one’s food in Elizabethan times must not have been the social taboo it is today, unlike playing with that other thing.
“If music be the food of love, let’s eat it” – Alan Partridge, Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge
That’s more like it: you eat food, you don’t play with it. Shakespeare was an idiot. I would applaud Alan for his correction of that centuries-old literary blooper, although unfortunately he is only a fictional character played by Steve Coogan and penned by a writing team, and I don’t want to run the risk of owing gratitude to Patrick Marber.
“Music soothes the savage beast” – whoever said this one
If I’m ever lost in the jungle I’ll be sure to leave my Pantera albums behind in favour of something more harp-based. Perhaps that naked woman should have sung to the eponymous Beast of Walerian Borowczyk’s terrible 1977 taboo feature. (Thanks to hogsflesh for bringing that one to my attention, and for the insights into homosexuality in the Star Wars trilogy).
“Marty, that was very interesting… music” – Lorraine Baines, Back to the Future
Robert Zemeckis’ time-travel romp showed that although societal attitudes could render an impromptu performance of Johnny B. Goode out of its historical context something of an earsore, their kids are gonna love it.
FINAL THOUGHTS
However you want to describe or categorise it – blues, Wagnerian, rebellious, boring, loud, crap – you will surely have some love of music. There are so many different types of music available because people have radically different tastes, and as long as people can remember and appreciate that, the world can continue to be a beautiful, musical place. Whether you dedicated your life to following Iron Maiden around the world on their staggering 1980s world tours at enormous cost to your wallet and eardrums, or you just like to hear young ladies singing in harmony when you drive to work, music makes the world a better place and I love it.
Why not show your appreciation of music in any form and write a review in the music category on this site? I’ve enjoyed it so far – many members of this site are open to new ideas. As long as feel you can successfully apply written descriptions to the sounds you’re hearing, reviewing your beloved or despised albums can be very enjoyable.
Musical taste can be expanded: through branching out to slightly different forms of the music I enjoy, I have discovered new areas and interests that would have otherwise escaped my attention or been hard to appreciate without the lead-in I was offered. No amount of progression or variation in a metal track could ever persuade me to give Pinky and Purky another try though. Sometimes music is just bad. Abominable music won’t even soothe the Abominable Snowman because, let’s face it, that doesn’t exist.
Advantages: Something for everyone, Interesting mixing of styles, Sounds great
Disadvantages: Inappropriate music can hinder enjoyment, A lot sounds the same, Sounds rubbish
A
Clock Me Jesus
Time Christ-is
**
Written on 19.09.07
Mad young French band Abitbollus combine industrial black metal played at speed with odd and unintelligible dramatic and comedic sketches (unintelligible if you don’t speak French, that is) to earn the generous moniker of ‘avant-garde black metal,’ for wont of a more fitting term for this sometimes enjoyable, but mostly confounding mess. ‘Clock Me Jesus’ is their second album.
The line-up for this band is fittingly unusual, featuring a wildly unnecessary three bassists, two of which play guitars most of the time but presumably double up in the studio. The enigmatically named Guy limits himself to vocals, an area for which the album is certainly notable even when failing to account for taste, and Régine handles all of the prominent keyboards. Unlike similarly cheap underground bands, the substitution of a drum machine for a real drummer is quite painfully and irritatingly obvious throughout, which detracts from the purity and intensity of the songs and brings them dangerously close to industrial territory. For this weird release, the band also drafted in a couple of bad actors (or perhaps played the roles themselves) whose dialogue opens and closes the majority of songs, while serving to spoil what little there is to enjoy in the middle.
Not being fluent in French even to the smallest degree I was left completely in the dark as to whether these were separate encounters, or part of a larger conceptual story interweaving throughout the juvenile angry music, but as foreign language has never obstructed my enjoyment of European metal before, I decided to let it pass. Doubtless a French speaker would get a lot more from the album, though the amateurish performances and rather silly sense of humour would likely yield a disappointing result; perhaps ignorance is bliss and less is indeed more in this instance. So on to the songs...
1. Capillo Tractum
2. Cook of Revelations
3. 4PQ 2WC
4. Black Metal Uten Strev
5. Lord of the Strings
6. M666 – Télévision Bizarre
7. Seventh Son of Massey Fergusson (live)
8. Henry Death
9. La Soupe aux Choux
10. Tof
11. Melissa
12. Das Gross Rigolad
When the band desists from messing around with sound effects, delays and badly recorded spoken word pieces, the music is rather traditional black metal in the speedy and aggressive style, varying little from song to song with only the occasional interesting riff or change, all of which sound generically derivative in any case. The drums are always right at the front of the aural experience which is a shame as their mechanical, clicking nature is quite distracting, giving the whole thing less of a raw, cousin’s-garage quality than most low-budget releases in the genre, and the guitars and basses are subsequently forced to grind away fuzzily in the background. Guy’s vocals are the most interesting and varied feature, moving through almost his full range from gurgled brutal-death-metal-style growls to black metal shrieks and unison punk yells in the anthemic opening song (and going through several languages as he does so) before completing the set with a clean vocal approach in softer passages of later songs. While some songs such as ‘M666,’’Henry Death’ and ‘Melissa’ offer a fairly straightforward black metal assault, the rest of the album at least strives to offer something different and unique, even if that does mostly extend to overlong passages of French blokes laughing or random xylophone filler to further prove their ‘avant-garde’ credentials.
The better songs tend to be the slightly longer ones, as the band clearly put some more effort into justifying the extended lengths. ‘Cook of Revelations’ features some nice, if primitive piano work that evolves into Cradle of Filth-style horror organs as the song continues before ending with a nice mock-classical coda, and the vocal performance accompanies it on this journey from spoken word to a really deep and growly central section, culminating in a nice Viking metal-inspired chant, though all the same I could do without the stupid duck quacking sound effect. The mock-epic ‘Lord of the Strings’ (this is the level of humour we’re dealing with here) actually succeeds in sounding rather grand and important, featuring some more piano and a dominant bagpipe that is commendable for playing something that doesn’t sound Scottish. Even when the inevitable metal arrives at around the half-way point, it’s restricted to a slower and more methodical gallop than a blasting assault, which serves to preserve the atmosphere, whatever exactly that is supposed to be. ‘La Soupe aux Choux’ acts as a rather pleasant, flute-based (or at least, keyboard pretending to be a flute-based) lead-in to ‘Tof,’ which deserves credit for being perhaps the ‘straightest’ track on the album, and not a bad one in its successful use of alternating fast and slow sections.
Probably the best song here is the allegedly ‘live’ performance of ‘Seventh Son of Massey Fergusson,’ an obvious nod to Iron Maiden’s album and song of a slightly similar name, the narrative part of which is reproduced by the vocalist in a rare English performance towards the end of this song. The Iron Maiden influence extends to the overall sound of the song, though it’s anchored more in their earlier classic ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ with its tolling bells, slow build-up and melodic lead guitars, and I certainly prefer the slower and more careful approach to the all-out anger of the other songs. Despite its claims to the contrary, I seriously doubt this is a genuine live performance by this little-known band, particularly as the crowd response is fairly immense and over-enthusiastic, even to the extent of some screaming groupie types at fairly random intervals that sound slightly too close to the microphone to be genuine. Still, the false live sound adds to the atmosphere, even if the song gets a little dull for lack of serious ideas as it draws to a conclusion.
The most disappointing sections of the album musically speaking, as I’m not really able to comment on the lyrical or conceptual approach, are those in which the lyrical and conceptual approach become far too dominant at a cost to the music. ‘4PQ 2WC’ introduces the male and female vocals between some average black metal, accompanied by a toilet flush and a bad echo effect as if the whole thing was recorded in someone’s kitchen, before leading out with an acoustic section performed in mock white trash style, similar to Faith No More’s ‘RV’ only less good, and in French with an affected American accent. The very last song features no metal whatsoever, led by violins (or keyboard violin), and is entirely devoted to concluding the story, featuring the sound effect of smacking lips but really not offering anything to the non-French listener, and arguably very little even if you do understand it. By far the weirdest cut of the album is ‘Black Metal Uten Strev,’ in which the male and female take turns to seemingly repeat a phrase (with slight alterations each time), while a brief slab of generic black metal is hastily laid down in-between. This occurs eight consecutive times. I have no idea what’s going on.
‘Clock Me Jesus’ is an album that can’t help but entirely alienate foreign listeners, and its reliance on crafting a storyline through its twelve songs proves to be a drawback in this area. It’s not only that the whole thing’s in French; I have a great many such concept albums that allow the lyrics and storyline to impose far too much on the music (you can even see it happen to some extent on Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ and The Who’s rock operas), and it’s clear that this rather amateur job was trying to achieve too much without the talent and ability to see it through. The use of the numbers six and seven in the titles of those respective tracks indicate a clear focus on the ordering of songs, while I can only guess about the larger clock metaphor: there are twelve songs, corresponding to a clock face, and it seems that the band intended the album to last for exactly one hour in order to help prove their ‘point’ – they must have been dismayed to learn that it ends up coming in at fifty-nine seconds over an hour. In a way I quite enjoy being kept in the dark, and I certainly don’t expect bands such as this to translate their lyrics into English for the benefit of the few individuals who track them down from overseas – some of my favourite albums are even written in ancient and dead languages (I sound like someone trying to defend themselves from racism by name-dropping their black friends), but if that was the case, why are some of the titles in English?
Abitbollus are a very confusing and rather silly band who won’t satisfy fans of black metal, avant-garde music or concept albums, and I can only presume that they chose such an alphabetically beneficial band name to rope in suckers like me who have unwisely decided to go through their extensive music collection in alphabetical order. I am clearly insane, but not as insane as Guy and the guys.
Advantages: Some interesting ideas, and the whole thing is brimming with arguably misplaced enthusiasm.
Disadvantages: Weak drum machine, uninspired music and far too much emphasis on spoken word interludes.
Ablaze in Hatred
Deceptive Awareness
***
Written on 21.09.07
Another year, another Finnish doom metal band that sounds pretty much the same as all the rest. The inappropriately named Ablaze in Hatred loyally follow the tradition of Swallow the Sun, Draconian, Saturnus and others in expressing a feeling of gloom typical to doom metal, but tinged with an overall lighter and more hopeful attitude than the inconsolable despair of English and Norwegian bands, and considering this is the young group’s first album it’s quite a fair forgery.
The seven songs that make up ‘Deceptive Awareness’ are all on the longish side, as expected from a musical genre that relies on slow, drawn-out passages rather than the energetic assaults of other heavy metal forms, but as all are kept under ten minutes, none fall into the trap of unreasonable longevity. Unfortunately, the energy does slow up considerably on some offerings, making this something of a chore to sit through in one sitting; as with all the best doom, it’s most suited to the loudest volume in the darkest, emptiest room you can find, preferably accompanied by a glass of whatever’s your personal poison that will most likely remain stationary and un-drunk as the gloomy trance possesses you for fifty minutes. The production job on this album is of the highest quality, surprising for the first release from a small band, and this makes the multiple layers of instruments even clearer in the more dominating sections, while enhancing the isolating minimalism of the quieter parts. Three of the band members form the bulk of Searing Meadow, a melodic death metal band that doubtless acts as a release for the anger that is never really present in this elegiac symphony (despite the band name to the contrary), meaning that this is kept as pure to Finnish doom as possible. This reliance on existing formulae is also its main downfall, as it brings nothing new to the repetitive genre.
The performances are all excellent, with the possible exception of Miska Lehtivuori’s bass guitar simply because it’s drowned out by the prominent guitars throughout, and Ablaze make excellent use of keyboards both as a lead instrument to add a lighter touch to some passages, and as a dominating background instrument in most of the songs that even works when absent in enhancing the contrast. Multi-talented Mika Ikonen provides the keyboard foundations while drafted session keyboardist Eve Kojo of MyGrain fills out the sound. Ikonen is also one of two guitarists, with Juhani Sanna, as well as the sole vocalist, relying entirely on a death metal growl that sounds similar to that of Opeth (and about ten thousand other imitators). Finally, Antti Hakkala’s drums set the all-important timing for these songs to prevent the other musicians from getting carried away and thinking they’re still playing death metal, varying his speed only occasionally and slightly, and communicating mostly through the pitter-pattering of the bass drum that stands out clearly in this recording.
1. Lost (The Overture)
2. When the Blackened Candles Shine
3. Howls Unknown
4. Constant Stillness
5. Ongoing Fall
6. To Breathe and to Suffocate
7. Closure of Life
It’s understandable, but a little disappointing all the same, that the three stand-out tracks of this album are all older songs left over from the demo, while the rest are inserted a little too self-consciously in-between to bulk this out to full length. ‘When the Blackened Candles Shine’ is rightfully targeted as the primary focus, after the pleasant but insubstantial introductory track that slowly introduces the instruments one by one against a synthesised backdrop, and it justifies its nine-minute length by remaining impressive, evocative and even changeable throughout. The tone is somewhere between the catchy gothic doom of Katatonia, the romantic harmony of Swallow the Sun and the grieving heaviness of My Dying Bride, and really takes on a character of its own as it progresses through excellent lead guitars and quieter vacuums before collecting itself together again for a final push through towards a satisfying conclusion. The lead and rhythm guitars are highly distinct and work against each other very well, particularly in the final section, and although it’s overly repetitive as most doom tends to be, it’s an excellent opener that gets all of the ingredients right, even down to the sparing use of vocals.
It’s a shame that the album’s finest offering is now behind us, but the rest maintains the tone and never slips up, only really disappointing in its failure to explore outside the tried-and-tested formula. ‘Howls Unknown’ is overly repetitive in a manner reminiscent of Katatonia, ‘Ongoing Fall’ starts heavy and ends with some pretty keyboards but fails to meet coherently in-between, and ‘Closure of Life’ seems like a mere re-tread of ‘Blackened Candles,’ featuring some impressive lead guitars but replicating the earlier song’s style and structure almost precisely, down to the substantial pause towards the end and subsequent resurgence. These three songs catch the band at its lowest and most uncreative point, and it’s surely not down to chance that they are inserted tactfully between the older, better pieces. ‘Constant Stillness’ stands out for breaking the style somewhat for several minutes, forsaking sweeping keyboards for bleak thunderstorm effects and slowing the tempo right down to the speed of funeral doom metal, the middle section of the song sounding much like Warning, only with a slow growl rather than a nasal Harlow singing voice. This song and the sixth, ‘To Breathe and to Suffocate,’ are the only real instances of anger audible on the recording, with heavier, louder guitars and even some instances of a black metal rasp replacing Ikonen’s usual growl.
As the three best songs have already been collected more concisely as the band’s first demo, I’d normally recommend tracking that down instead, except that it would certainly prove a far more demanding, thankless and expensive task than simply buying this from Amazon (they claim to have one in stock, but they’re probably lying). If the filler songs had been anything other than filler this would be an excellent performance worthy to stand alongside Swallow the Sun and Draconian, though perhaps on the third ‘bronze’ step compared to their respective gold and silvers, simply for being a shameless imitator; even the attractive gothic artwork replicates the style of Anathema’s album covers fifteen years earlier.
Everything about this has been done before, and better, but it’s always worth investing in some new doom just in case heartbreak, bereavement or premature cancellation of a favourite television programme are waiting round the corner. Ablaze in Hatred are less melodic than doom bands made up of girls, less depressing than ones made up of the middle-aged, and less savage than ones with a more explicit black metal base, so I wouldn’t recommend it as your suicide album; try something with a bit more hopelessness like Warning or Pantheist and let me know how you get on.
Advantages: Some great modern doom on the even-numbered songs.
Disadvantages: Some incredibly average modern doom in-between.
Ablaze My Sorrow
If Emotions Still Burn
Falkenbergers in Flames
***
Written on 22.09.07
Defunct melodic death metal band Ablaze My Sorrow (let’s call them Ablaze from now on) took three years to release their debut album on No Fashion Records, following two successful underground demos, and it’s a shame the band wasn’t snapped up sooner, allowing them to be recognised as another key factor in the melodic death explosion, rather than the quite-good Dark Tranquillity clone that metal fans ended up with. I haven’t heard the earlier demos, but if they sound anything like this – melodic, lead-guitar driven death metal – then they deserve a lot more praise than they have been accredited. Of course, it’s equally possible that Ablaze heard what Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Amon Amarth and others were releasing in 1995 to much acclaim, and hastily incorporated it into their recording session late that year.
‘If Emotions Still Burn’ is a relatively brief and simplistic album, but that is by no means a disadvantage. The eight songs collected here (plus a hidden track of equal legitimacy) showcase the founding principles of melodic death metal without attempting to show off or experiment in any way. A couple of the riff-centic songs mimic (however unintentionally) the sound Amon Amarth would base their entire career upon, and a brief folky acoustic section in the great second track can’t help but remind of In Flames during this era, but the predominant influence heard in the style and precise sound of the guitars comes directly from fellow Swedes Dark Tranquillity. The dominance of lead guitars as opposed to heavier riffs helps this album to stand out despite this similarity, especially as the other areas – bass, drums and especially the vocals – do much to distance the comparison, occasionally at a cost to the overall synchronicity.
Martin Qvist’s vocals are the most striking feature of this album, and will certainly serve to deter more people than they entice, though veteran death metal fans won’t find them a problem. Rather than growl along as is customary for these bands (at some cost to the vocalist’s distinctiveness), Qvist prefers instead to shriek with every ounce of strength he has (presumably at some cost to his vocal cords). The vocals teeter over the precipice that leads to emotive black metal along the lines of Burzum, whose torturous screams Qvist seems to emulate on rare occasions, but for the most part he does his job of grounding the quite harmonious and pretty album in clear, dirty death metal roots, along with Alex Bengtsson’s manic drumming. This isn’t the most original album ever recorded, but it earns points over the mass of replicated mediocrity that would spew forth from Gothenburg as the new millennium approached. Death metal purists will likely find it too clean, and more technically minded listeners may be disappointed with its simplicity and lack of overall structure, as all the songs simply cease at the end rather than drawing to a natural conclusion. I suppose I tend towards the latter description (not the former, thankfully; I can enjoy metal without it having to be br00tal), but viewed as a nice and unadulterated example of pure melodic death, I have no major issues with this release.
1. If Emotions Still Burn
2. The Rain That Falls...
3. Rise Above the Storming Sea
4. Denial (The Way of the Strong)
5. The Battle
6. My Last Journey
7. As I Face the Eternity
8. My Revenge to Come
As the stylised band font, brooding cover art and somewhat clichéd song titles may reveal, the lyrics of these songs mostly run along the typical lines of fantasy and romance that have been a staple of heavy metal since Judas Priest and Rainbow twenty years earlier. The fact that the lyrics are growled obviously reduces their impact to a large extent, as only the most astute listener will be able to make them out most of the time unless they have the booklet handy, but despite their oppressive prominence in the mix, the vocals clearly take a backseat to the great instrumentation of drummer Bengtsson and guitarist Magnus Carlsson. The album claims that contemporary band member Dennie Lindén performed the secondary guitar duties, but for some reason or other this claim is commonly disputed, and it appears that growler Qvist handled those responsibilities in the studio. The songs vary somewhat between attempts at sheer brutality and something more melodic, but most often meet somewhere in-between and continue to alternate and repeat throughout their comparatively short playing times.
The title track starts things off with a bang, wasting no time in sinking right into the death metal and throwing out a ton of impressive lead guitar melodies, the likes of which will become increasingly mundane as the album progresses, simply through overuse. Unlike some death bands (or at least those I’ve been listening to recently), these songs are mostly based on the traditional formula of verse-chorus, but without a guitar solo to interrupt and consume time towards the end, which is a bit of a shame as the guitarists are obviously talented, whatever their true identities. Where the first track contains some nice minimalist chanting after each chorus to help it stand out, something that would return more prominently in the final song, the second goes out of its way to remain memorable, and is probably the album’s finest offering for this reason. Beginning with some nice drum touches, in which Bengtsson takes us through the full range of his kit from double bass pedals to crashing cymbals, the song then turns into a sort of semi-folk death metal song, but without going too far down that line to break from the usual style. The acoustic sections seem to be taken straight from Dark Tranquillity’s ‘I Am the Grandeur of Melancholy Burning,’ but the lead guitar melody is so incredibly catchy and neo-folky that I can picture a group of idiots in stupid clothes prancing around a maypole in a merry jig. Ace! A great twin lead guitar section threatens to be a solo at two and a half minutes in, but to no avail.
‘Rise Above the Storming Sea’ is a more simplistic and repetitive affair, which isn’t a problem at this early point. It’s actually quite nice to be anchored to a main riff that returns towards the end, but on the whole this song sounds too derivative of In Flames, the lead guitar melodies in particular, which counts against it. The band is clearly trying out a few different styles without veering too far off the mark, and this time it’s 1980s thrash metal that gets a look in with some palm-muted riffs, which resurface to a greater degree in ‘The Battle.’ Actually one of the better songs, this tows the line between pure melodic death and the watered down “Iron Maiden with laryngitis” offerings that would soon clog its output, though the ’Maiden-influenced twin leads – almost, but not quite a guitar solo – fit nicely into the generally slower and more laid-back sound of this one. It’s clear that everyone in the band is enjoying themselves, from the audible bass spot of Anders Brorsson, heard often throughout the album but never really standing out, to Qvist’s enthusiastic bellowing of the final chorus reprise. Less notable is its predecessor ‘Denial,’ which offers something a little slower but entirely derivative of Amon Amarth, only weaker, something that also affects ‘My Revenge to Come.’
The latter half of the album isn’t entirely without merit, but the sound does become quite samey by the seventh and eight offerings, without providing the stand-out masterpieces that keep other albums entertaining throughout. ‘My Last Journey’ is the highlight of the second half, a song that borders on instrumental but is primarily concerned with giving listeners a great metal experience rather than showing off (still, a solo wouldn’t have gone amiss). Bengtsson is permitted to freestyle around his kit to some extent, and the main guitar lead is one of the best on the album, sounding quite similar to one Iron Maiden would later use for ‘No More Lies.’ There’s a nice shift half-way through into a slower, almost doom metal section as Qvist’s single verse is yelled in his customary way before vocal duties are handed over to guest Anne Albertsson. This doesn’t work as well as the band may have hoped, as she opts for (or was perhaps instructed to do) a spoken word delivery in a very flat and emotionless tone that makes her sound like a robot. It may sound a little insulting, but I actually had to check after listening that it was indeed a human woman’s voice and not some of that voice reproduction software as was used in the ‘Batman’ theme and on primitive computer games. It’s sadly all too clear that English is not Anne Albertsson’s first, or perhaps even second language. Anne returns very briefly in ‘As I Face the Eternity,’ but her appearance is limited enough not to spoil that otherwise bland and repetitive song of “girl kills self, man becomes sad, man kills self, they are together in hell.”
Ablaze My Sorrow’s debut album came too late to forge a mould, and was ultimately too derivative to break it. Whether or not a year or two would have made any difference to their success is debatable, but the Dark Tranquillity-esque sound that permeates this release had already been long established since the start of the decade by another band known as Dark Tranquillity. At thirty-eight minutes (three of which are silence), this isn’t the most enthralling or cost-effective musical experience a metal fan could subject themselves to, and the songs seem to be short due to lack of ideas and a desire to avoid repetition rather than a stab at short, sharp brutality, so it’s a shame a few more weren’t added to bulk it out a little. Then again, if the hidden track is anything to go by, the band had already used up all its current ideas on these eight average and enjoyable tracks, which are by no means a waste of time, but would perhaps detract from time that could be better spent prowling the rest of the Swedish archive.
Advantages: A pleasant surplus of lead guitar melodies balanced out with some angry death metal.
Disadvantages: Overly repetitive, and too similar to Dark Tranquillity and others to truly stand out.
Abomination
Abomination
****
Written on 24.09.07
The fast and furious debut album from Chicago’s Abomination is an enjoyably frenetic piece of death metal history, bridging the gap seamlessly between the angry thrash of the late 80s, the even angrier grind of the turn of the 90s, and the brutal death metal that continued to be defined throughout the decade. While it opts to adopt traits from all three groups rather than bring anything particularly new to the table, Abomination’s self-titled release still sounds great today even if it is largely rooted in a specific 1990 sound, proving that metal still had a violent edge even before production values were kicked up a few notches and the crushing force of a live death metal performance could be transmitted to your own living room, cellar or car. But then, I am a bit of a sucker for primitive early 90s death.
‘Abomination’ was released on the burgeoning Nuclear Blast label, which would soon give rise to some of the most prominent extreme Scandinavian bands from the 90s up to the present day, though this is a full-blooded U.S.A. release with plenty of local references to the President and U.S. capitalist society (can you guess which side they’re on? This is nothing if not by-the-numbers aggro), and with enough obvious tips of the hat to genre forebears Slayer and Master as well as the numerous death and grind acts springing up all over the place. Based more in the sound of grind than death metal as it’s know today, the focus is less on achieving a deafening raucous through blasted drums, down-tuned guitars and roared vocals, and more a violent off-shoot of hardcore punk.
Paul Speckmann’s vocals are yelled with a genuine fury without becoming incomprehensible death grunts, while his bass can be heard distinctly and satisfyingly both over and between the speedy guitars, which are themselves primarily concerned with riffing along at a breakneck pace, often throwing up some interesting riff changes and squealed, brainless solos in the style of Slayer’s Kerry King. Aaron Nickeas’ drums are the most fore-grounded and impressive instrument, smothering the full extent of the kit in every song rather than restricting himself to maintaining a steady rhythm or relying solely on the double bass pedals that many lesser bands seem to think constitutes a heavy sound. The slightly lo-fi production quality means that the whole thing is still firmly rooted in the 80s, sounding more akin to thrash than the louder death metal being produced by Death and Morbid Angel, but really this only adds to its historical charm. Nuclear Blast’s more recent catalogue is full of death metal cacophonies, but this is a highly enjoyable album that will be enjoyed by Death and Anthrax fans alike.
1. The Choice
2. Murder, Rape, Pillage and Burn
3. Reformation
4. Redeem Deny
5. Possession
6. Suicidal Dreams
7. Life and Death
8. Victim of the Future
9. Tunnel of Damnation
10. Follower
11. Impending Doom
The first and longest song is an overview of pretty much everything that the band has to offer, from some of Speckmann’s less generic lyrics (in that they don’t just concern war, government and religion) to a succession of great guitar riffs and time in the spotlight for the drums and, to a lesser but still notable extent, Speckmann’s punky bass. From here on the album varies very little from the standard fast, angry style, but most of the songs manage some form of deviation, whether that simply means adding a slow section as in ‘Follower,’ or throwing out some great, unexpected lead guitars as is the case with the excellent ‘Life and Death.’ Nickeas’ drums are at their best when unleashed in ‘Murder, Rape, Pillage and Burn,’ a song that’s also notable for the unadulterated enjoyment of its chorus, where the bitter, anti-everything title is yelled in unison punk fashion, but the drums suffer considerably when attempts are made to explore a genuine ‘heavy’ sound, not really suited to the album’s production. ‘Reformation’ ends up sounding far less brutal than its exhaustive skin-hammering efforts clearly intended, while the unwise drum intro to ‘Tunnel of Damnation’ is bizarrely the worst percussion of the whole album, largely due to its reliance on a bass drum extravaganza in unsuitable circumstances.
There’s genuine rage throughout this album, particularly evident in the spiteful yells of the more hateful songs such as ‘Suicidal Dreams,’ but there are also unfortunately a number of times where the energy and ideas seem to run out by the half-way point of the song, leading to over-repetition that could easily have been avoided by trimming the track length to something more appropriate, which would still exceed the grindcore average length of around twenty seconds. The unfortunate distanced sound of the guitars caused by the production’s bass-heavy preference also means that many of their more interesting offerings can easily pass listeners by, often forming a mere wall of sound against which Nickeas is free to explore his drum kit, in an odd turnaround of the normal order.
Perhaps my favourite track is ‘Possession,’ if only for its unusual and entertaining deviation, as Speckmann slowly but surely recites the Lord’s Prayer in full around the half-way point, yelled in anger and accompanied by a tormented scream in the distance, before the guitars move into an uncharacteristically chirpy rendition of ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic,’ with ever-so-subtly changed vocals (‘Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the death’ – did you spot it?). ‘Follower’ is another fine song with some great Testament-style eerie lead guitars, and along with its successor ‘Impending Doom,’ was added to CD versions as a ‘bonus track’ present on all versions, but not on the equivalent LP. This final song is far less noteworthy, sounding like a carbon copy of much more famous earlier songs by Slayer, particularly in its replication of key aspects of ‘Angel of Death.’
Abomination’s name was never going to go down in history alongside their more creative and commercially successful contemporaries, but their albums are still great examples of early death metal in its genesis, before the sound became fairly standardised and repetitive. Paul Speckmann is a great frontman and impressive songwriter, his lyrics following the usual anarchistic agenda but managing to incorporate a large degree of irony and empathy, and it’s a shame he wasn’t a greater presence in the field alongside greats such as Chuck Schuldiner. ‘Abomination’ is relatively hard to come by, but some of their subsequent albums released prior to their mid-nineties break-up ought to be a little more in the limelight.
Advantages: Fine early death metal.
Disadvantages: Repetitive and derivative.
Aborted
Slaughter and Apparatus
****
Written on 26.09.07
The newest album from Aborted continues in the same vein as its predecessor, moving towards a pleasing fusion of melodic death metal and the brutal goregrind of their earlier albums. The resulting concoction reaches its zenith here, heavy enough to satisfy long-time fans and without the frightening brain-hammering that would put off queasier newcomers. This Belgian band’s transition from gore-obsessed noise to something more musically accomplished and traditional follows directly in the bloodied footsteps of the disbanded Liverpool band Carcass over ten years earlier, and the inspiration is fully acknowledged through a guest performance by Carcass’ Jeff Walker on two songs, allowing Aborted complete freedom to rip his band’s sound off almost completely.
‘Slaughter and Apparatus: A Methodical Overture’ is more than a simple ‘Heartwork’ clone, though the sonic similarities (right down to some identical sounding riffs) make it a fitting modern-day tribute, depressingly showing just how little progress has been made since that definitive and massively influential 1994 opus. Aborted’s take is naturally heavier, as the band’s departure from a purer strain of brutal death metal hasn’t taken away the edge they possess over the hordes of poor imitators, complete with tediously shocking subject matter. Aborted’s own niche has always been its thematic focus on surgical abominations and malpractice, but this gimmick is noticeably less present here than it was a few years back when each song title competed with the last in the vomit-inducing stakes. There’s an obvious degree of maturity here that finally catches up to the band’s technical skill, and the fresh blood of relentless session drummer David Haley keeps the energy level consistently high throughout its exhausting forty-two minutes, the band’s longest album to date.
1. The Chondrin Enigma
2. A Methodical Overture
3. Avenious
4. The Spaying Séance
5. And Carnage Basked in its Ebullience
6. The Foul Nucleus of Resurrection
7. Archetype
8. Ingenuity in Genocide
9. Odious Emanation
10. Prolific Murder Contrivance
11. Underneath Rorulent Soil
As a sign of the greater focus on musicianship over cheap shocks and competitive heaviness for heaviness’ sake, gone are the overlong film snippets and voice samples that used to dominate the early parts of songs, restricted to a couple of brief introductory samples at key points. The album builds up anticipation with some nice distortion and American news broadcasts about something or other before the band lets rip. Haley’s drumming is extremely prominent, which can actually become a little irritating in its repetitiveness at times; although he makes excellent use of the bass pedals to provide a spine for the album’s rhythms, his frequent skin assaults (it’s hard to describe this band without slipping into medical terminology) conjure the image of a bloke beating the hell out of some metal bins, which isn’t really to my taste and is a little horrifyingly reminiscent of Metallica’s last album. Nevertheless, the production job is flawless, providing a great depth and volume that’s necessary to get across the full power of the band, and their roots in technical death keep the guitars of Matty Dupont and Seb Purulator (not his real name) a focal point that speeds through multiple interesting and organic changes each minute without spiralling into excessive fret masturbation. Most songs feature some impressive lead sections that bring the Carcass influence to the forefront, and a few feature some highly enjoyable solos in the classic style, as opposed to the squealing discordance practiced by most death metal outfits.
Vocalist Sven de Caluwe is one of the more impressive in his field, here alternating between a standard gurgling grunt and a more aggressive yell that comes across sounding a lot like In Flames’ Anders Fridén, especially when the silly electronic distortion is added in track eight. Sven fortunately avoids any kind of metalcore ‘clean’ vocals that would really rob the album of its ferocity and spoil even its less brutal moments, but even the move on from a permanent grunting style ought to annoy some purists. While some songs stick to the older wall-of-sound style fairly rigidly, such as the second track and some of the even stronger pieces towards the end, most are eager to try something new, even if Carcass and Arch Enemy had already been there long before. ‘Avenious’ is the first to venture into truly melodic territory, leaving much of the brutality behind in favour of blending aggression with pleasantly high guitars, and as usual I much prefer these slightly slower, more thought-out pieces to the often mindless brain-crushing riffs of the shorter songs. The album makes excessive and distinctly odd use of fade-outs for around half of the songs, some of which are improved by the drawn-out conclusion, and others of which could just as easily have ground to a halt before getting on with the next. The greater focus on crafting intricate songs also works to keep the album entertaining throughout, only really failing with the very last track which seems to drag on for the last couple of minutes and run out of steam, which makes for a bit of an anticlimax.
‘Slaughter and Apparatus’ sees Aborted continuing to claw their way out of the niche they very effectively formed with their cultish early albums, aiming for a wider audience that would greatly enjoy this continuing change of direction for the band. There are enough groove-driven riffs to make it appealing to even the most brain-dead Pantera fan, and it successfully flirts around the spiteful metalcore trend without selling its soul. Hopefully, angry kids will start listening to this sort of music instead, allowing those fallen melodic death bands to come back from the dark side, and making everyone a lot happier. As expected, it’s near impossible to discern what Sven is growling about in these eleven songs, only really becoming intelligible when he yells, but whatever the hell he’s angry about, it’s impossible not to concur with him wholeheartedly.
Advantages: Aborted continue to improve, refining and incorporating further melodic elements into their sound.
Disadvantages: Owes a significant debt to Carcass' 'Heartwork,' preventing it from being groundbreaking.
Aborym
With No Human Intervention
***
Written on 28.09.07
Italy’s Aborym is an intriguingly forward-looking black metal band, forsaking the historical focus and influence typical of much of the genre and incorporating ever more electronic and dance elements to produce something that sounds notably futuristic, or at least highly contemporary. As of their third album, released in 2003, this skilful melding of two vastly different styles is still very much a work in progress.
Aborym is by no means an innovator when it comes to introducing electronic elements into metal, or even black metal specifically, with noted bands such as Anaal Nathrakh concentrating on a similar fusion of styles, a larger number of bands such as Zyklon striving for a more detached and mechanical sound with futuristic themes, and an even greater number experimenting with dance remixes of their own material on B-side releases, often to a less than stellar reception. To its credit, Aborym’s music doesn’t sound like Anaal Nathrakh, which is probably the closest comparison, but neither does this album fully deserve the plaudits granted to it as a perfect synthesis of styles, as the seams and rivets are very often gratuitously on display.
The band possesses a mechanical and inhuman feel from the start, having a drum machine in place of a flesh-and-blood drummer for most of this album, and as expected the industrial elements are chiefly expressed through the shift from black metal’s blast beats and double bass drums to a rave ‘beat’ (yeah alright, I’m not as wordy when it comes to the genres I know nothing about), as well as a greater presence of keyboards and samples. The majority of the album is performed in a surprisingly traditional black metal style that harks right back to the genre’s infernal conception in the mid-80s with bands such as Bathory and later the influential Mayhem, rather than the more modern sound being performed by many of their contemporaries today, but this more simplistic, rhythm-based and incessantly catchy approach aids in the fusion that the band is going for. The drum machine is the most prominent instrument in a rather distracting way, not fooling anyone for a second with its icy lack of energy, while the guitars are mostly restricted to heavily backgrounded riffs with a few acceptable moments in the spotlight, overpowered even by the keyboards that act primarily to maintain the atmosphere of apocalypse, robots or whatever.
By far the most impressive aspect of the album is the vocal performance from black metal icon Attila Csihar, whose range has improved greatly since his performance on Mayhem’s infamous ‘De Mysteriis dom Sathanas’ in 1993. Attila performs primarily in a deep growl, with frequent lapses into ferocious screams and some very effective chant and spoken word sections that suit the album’s less aggressive sections. Less aesthetically and technically impressive is the music’s descent into full rave on two tracks, which sounds equally as derivative and basic as the more dominant, pure black metal sections, and will only serve to annoy black metal fans, or mildly entertain those with a broader mind. The album is at its very best in the moments that harsh and relentless black metal is melded with the apocalyptic intensity of industrial, but sadly these are all too infrequent as the band continues to search for the golden ratio. At fourteen songs and over an hour in length this is a very generous and full release, but lacks any kind of real resonance, making the whole experience something of a drawn-out chore. And I can’t really forgive them for using the word ‘Rave’olution’ in a song title, that just stinks.
1. Antichristian Codec
2. With No Human Intervention
3. U.V. Impaler
4. Humechanics-Virus
5. Does Not Compute
6. Faustian Spirit of the Earth
7. Digital Goat Masque
8. The Triumph
9. Black Hole Spell
10. Me(n)tal Striken Terror Action II
11. Out of Shell
12. Chernobyl Generation
13. The Alienation of a Blackened Heart
14. Automatik Rave’olution Aborym
After a brief atmospheric introduction comes the first real song with the title track, which doesn’t disappoint in offering a full overview of the band’s potential, even if the industrial elements are significantly toned down to avoid alienating metal fans too early on. The techno influence is handled quite well in the first section of the album, creeping in gradually and culminating with ‘Humechanics-Virus’ which sees an effective melding of the percussion styles as well as an overbearing presence of electronic boops. The technological themes of the titles are a reliable indicator of the more dance-based songs on the whole, but very little could compare listeners for the all-out techno of ‘Does Not Compute,’ kept mercifully short at four minutes but abandoning the metal elements altogether. The atmosphere is consistent throughout both styles, conveying the album’s larger sense of depersonalised gloom, but the full-on techno can’t help but stick out far too dramatically, not weird enough, despite its efforts, to join the ranks of Aphex Twin, and far too fast even for the most speed-encrusted raver to get down and boogie to, or whatever these people do.
The advantage of such a deviation is that the next few songs sound practically human by comparison, even extending to the otherwise annoying drum machine. ‘Faustian Spirit of the Earth’ breaks the style with a disappointing dance interlude that seems more in line with pop music, but fortunately makes up for its with a great vocal performance and some fun guitar solos later on. Continuing to develop the style, the album reaches its peak in the middle section, with the experimental ‘Digital Goat Masque’ offering some excellent slower riffs, a harpsichord section and what sounds like a black metal sea shanty, but this is all topped with the best song ‘The Triumph,’ despite its excessive length that borders on ten minutes. The style changes completely from traditional black metal to a more modern meeting of melodic death metal with the grandeur of symphonic black metal, and with its tremolo-picking riffs, extended guitar solos and sweeping atmosphere this sounds like an entirely different band, which isn’t really a compliment to the rest of the recording. The industrial elements are mixed in perfectly as the song continues, losing the metal entirely as it draws to a close in a process of gradual reduction that works very impressively, and distracting even the most keen-eared critics with a very long vocal performance in the form of a female orgasm. It is a very enjoyable song, love, but that’s going a bit too far.
Unfortunately, the remainder of the album falls into a significant slump after this height, returning to the familiar style and churning out several more songs of unimpressive, fairly pointless Bathory-inspired metal that lacks anything in the way of experimentation before the album’s second fully electronic piece ‘Chernobyl Generation,’ an overlong companion to the fifth track that sounds even more derivative of generic techno (even down the bloke-trapped-in-car-boot pulse of the rhythm) but remains listenable for an enjoyable and unexpected vocal performance from Attila, who suits the less intense atmosphere as much as he does the more violent parts of the album. Weirdly, his vocals become completely audible on the brief penultimate track ‘The Alienation of a Blackened Heart’ which sounds entirely like a Bathory homage (or rip-off, depending on your point of view) and is enjoyable for it, even if it doesn’t really fit into the album. The inevitable grand anticlimax comes with the final track, which wastes several minutes of each listener’s life with some indistinct samples, noises and voices.
‘With No Human Intervention’ is a significantly flawed experiment, but I admire it for trying, and for coming so close with the fine songs in the middle. Targeted specifically at fans of both extreme metal and the darker side of dance music, these Italians don’t hold anything back in combining their love of both styles, but lack the inspiration and song-writing ability to produce something that could truly be considered innovative or a masterpiece. ‘The Triumph’ is quite appropriately the closest this comes to meeting the band’s vision, but there’s plenty for black metal fans to enjoy in the form of Attila’s fantastic performance, as well as plenty for them to loathe in the form of the more deviant tracks. Replete with filler, this will provide appropriate background music after the machines take over and decimate our planet, forcing us to work pointlessly in mines to gather the fossil fuels they eat, but until that day this is simply a well-intended oddity gathering dust in strange European music shops.
Advantages: An interesting project combining extreme metal and dance/industrial.
Disadvantages: True fusion is rare, most songs falling into one category or the other with disappointing simplicity
Abruptum
*
Written on 30.09.07
Disbanded Stockholm band Abruptum played a style of free-form black metal that predated later post-metal trends, and as such clearly has no idea how to go about it. One of the smellier releases to come from the respected Deathlike Silence Productions, owned by murdered Mayhem guitarist Euronymous and responsible for launching such notable black metal acts as Enslaved in the early nineties, Abruptum’s first album caters more towards avant-garde noise enthusiasts than black metal fans, entirely lacking the ambience or artistry that would have taken it to a much higher level, or made it anything other than an insult to the eardrum and cochlea.
Contrary to popular opinion, this fifty minute mess-around, split into two tracks for no reason other than to cater for the vinyl market (because, like, this would sound so much better if you bought the authentic 12”), is actually music, performed by the usual black metal instruments of guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and snarling voice, and grounded in regular rhythms and repeated riffs. It takes several minutes of listening to raise suspicion that something is awry, as the instruments slowly form themselves into something resembling the usual introductory song of an album evoking a dark atmosphere, but it’s more a realisation that the song is simply going nowhere than a reaction against an alienating avant-garde sonic extravaganza in the style of John Zorn. ‘Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectére Me’ is a seemingly improvised lengthy recording that goes absolutely nowhere and, despite its obvious intentions, fails to evoke any kind of atmosphere other than disappointed boredom and restlessness.
There are many bands, inside and outside black metal, that concern themselves with creating dark, mournful or hateful atmospheres at the expense of technical accomplishment, and many albums that succeed tremendously. Abruptum have the excuse of forming a relatively new (though inevitable) niche in the burgeoning black metal market, but I find it hard to imagine anyone being truly engrossed in this pointless, amateurish music, or finding it truly evocative of hell, hate and despair, which was clearly the band’s intention. Burzum’s compositions from the same era were long-winded and repetitive, but truly distressing and terrifying, as well as being damn catchy. Later bands such as Black Funeral released albums entirely composed of evil incantations and endlessly cyclical inhuman noises which I find similarly unpalatable, but at least provide something to go to sleep to (especially keeping fingers crossed for a nightmare). Even the most comparably boring and tedious album-length compositions of bands such as Monolithe succeed in dragging the listener into their depressing world for at least twenty minutes or so before ears start to itch, but I got bored of this far sooner, and loaded up a game of ‘Columns’ while the remaining forty minutes or so plodded on to an unsatisfying conclusion. The only real change is that IT’s vocals become more vomit-sounding towards the end, which is just unpleasant. The moans and yells allegedly record the band members cutting and injuring each other, the f****ing idiots.
IT and Evil (real names Tony Särkkä and Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson, not that they’d want you to know that) mess around on their instruments with no sense of direction whatsoever, resulting in something weakly experimental when compared to things like Naked City, and too distracting to create or maintain any atmosphere or mental image other than two blokes in face-paint wasting time in a studio. Assuming that over-dubbing was necessary to layer all the instruments, it means they actually listened back to this and played along, at no point thinking, “hang on, this is just complete rubbish isn’t it? What the hell are we doing?” The sound quality is very impressive for such an underground release, making this seem like even more of a waste. Nothing is drowned out in the noise, and it accurately captures the changes of intensity as the drums and guitars speed into a brief fast section before getting bored and slowing down again, knowing they’ve got thirty or so minutes more of this crap before they can get back to playing ‘Super Mario World.’ There is one single piece of studio trickery employed in the form of arbitrary fade-out and fade-in sections that serve no purpose whatsoever, other than perhaps to give the musicians an undeserved break, and although this music is particularly suited to loud volume, the risk of anyone catching you listening to it will probably act as a deterrent. Unless of course, you’re seeking to cultivate a false sense of intrigue from your flatmates, hoping that listening to tedious noise makes you seem interesting.
‘Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectére Me’ was obviously intended as a revolutionary and rebellious album from stupid young Satanists that ends up sounding more like the contractually obligated filler churned out by more famous artists, Vangelis’ worthless ‘Beaubourg’ being foremost on my mind. Evil released a remastered version on his own BloodDawn label in 1999, but you shouldn’t by that either. It is rubbish.
Advantages: You may get an unreasonable sense of the connoisseur from owning something so obscure.
Disadvantages: The album.
Abscess
Horrorhammer
***
Written on 01.10.07
I expected some pretty good things from Abscess’ latest release, despite being unfamiliar with long-running death metal outfit. I was easily won over by its Beksinski-style cover of rotting buildings, rising dead and monstrous eyeballs walking around on spider legs, and intrigued over vocalist/drummer Chris Reifer’s long-standing presence in the Californian death metal scene right from its infernal spawning in the mid-eighties, providing the drums for Death’s classic debut ‘Scream Bloody Gore’ (the only instrument not handled by Chuck Schuldiner) and immediately forming his own band Autopsy, which eventually morphed into Abscess. Thirdly, I thought the album title was really ace.
Abscess’ more recent trend (so I gather) has been a continuing progression towards a more punk- and grind-tinged form of death metal, resulting in brief albums full of short, sharp, repulsive shocks rather than striving for brutality. ‘Horrorhammer’ continues to mix harsh death metal vocals over relatively simplistic supporting guitars and drums, but the overall experience sounds somewhat mismatched and ineffective, lacking a fair amount of the energy and aggression to live up to the sickening demands of the lyrics. There isn’t much emphasis on crafting memorable compositions as much as a thirty-five minute hardcore-punk-death-metal buzz that weirdly seems to drag on even as it approaches its insubstantial finale.
‘Insubstantial’ is the main word on my mind, particularly in the shorter songs, some of which last less than two minutes with the majority coming in under three, as they speed by without making much of an impact and are instantly forgotten. Maybe I’m just more used to overlong, overcomplicated metal performances and I failed to grasp the punk mindset, but the majority of this album comes across as samey and repetitive mediocrity. Reifer’s vocals are the main focus but even these aren’t as powerful or gut-wrenching as those of other bands, too raspy to convey real aggression and too unintelligible to be catchy. His drums are similarly average, never overpowering the music with oppressive blast beats or double bass hammering, but opting instead to keep a fairly steady rhythm in the faster and slower sections alternating over the course of the album. Clint Bower and Danny Coralles provide the guitars which also suffer for being largely kept in the background, but occasionally throw out some enjoyable riffs that successfully balance between death metal and punk, and churning out some basic but irresistible squealy guitar solos at fairly random intervals in the true pink spirit. Joe Allen plays the bass. I think I noticed him about twice.
1. Drink the Filth
2. New Diseases
3. Poison Messiah
4. Another Private Hell
5. Exterminate
6. When Witches Burn
7. Four Grey Walls
8. Beneath a Blood Red Sun
9. Horrorhammer
10. Hellhole
11. March of the Plague
12. The Eternal Pyre
There’s no real pattern to the best songs on here, as one or two notable examples will usually be found floating on top of the mediocrity and may be of varied length. Initially, it tends to be the longer songs that have more going for them, the four-minute ‘Poison Messiah’ impressing with its unexpected and competent slower pace and occasional guitar flair, but mainly enjoyable for providing a break from the fast and furious pace of its predecessors. As the album drags on, the longer songs become increasingly tiresome, drawn-out and dull, to the point that the penultimate ‘March of the Plague’ runs out of steam before the half-way point. ‘When Witches Burn’ relies on some similarly unexpected but highly derivative Black Sabbath-style guitars and adds some truly evil vocals to make for one of the better offerings, but this too is undermined by ‘Beneath a Blood Red Sun’ which essentially does exactly the same thing, only dull and lacking completely in energy.
The majority of the album follows a similar course of fast, competent but uninspired guitars and drums providing a backing for Chris Reifer’s half-hearted yells, and due to the repetitive style between each song, these do work best when squashed between some of the slower or lengthier pieces. ‘Four Grey Walls’ stands out particularly well as a nice speedy song between the Sabbathesque tracks, and is perhaps the only instance where the death metal and punk influences truly meet each other in some kind of synthesis, extending to Reifer’s yells becoming less guttural and more audible for a change. The opening track ‘Drink the Filth’ performs its task adequately of introducing this style and spewing its pointlessly violent lyrics at the listener in a manner that it’s hard to resist shouting along with, whether you agree with the band’s rather unpopular stance or not, but the rest fail to stand out in the same way. ‘Horrorhammer’ itself is an enjoyable instrumental song that doesn’t descend into all-out masturbatory gratuity but restrains itself to replacing the vocals with more prominent guitars, featuring a nice subdued lead in the first half and a parade of fine riffs in the second. Despite having the opportunity to concentrate more fully on the percussion, Reifer sticks to a steady backing drum beat that’s a little disappointing.
Death metal is an excitingly wide-reaching genre, and there are plenty of other, better, more compelling ways to enjoy half an hour of aggression than this rather feeble performance, watered down by a sleek production job. Abscess’ back catalogue almost certainly holds far greater albums of note, especially if reaching back through Autopsy and right back to ‘Scream Bloody Gore,’ and despite being sweary, having a cool cover and a funny title, this album doesn’t slice it.
Advantages: Fairly enjoyable mix of death metal and hardcore punk.
Disadvantages: Hugely inconsistent and lacking in substance.
Absence
**
Written on 07.10.07
The first and so far only release from Dortmund’s Absence is just about the most pointless melodic death metal album I’ve ever heard, in a genre that’s been spiralling increasingly downhill since its conception in the early nineties. Taking all of its cues from the rotting corpse of Gothenburg metal (perhaps explaining the album’s title), every repetitive nuance of every song seems lifted from In Flames’ ‘Whoracle’ released ten years earlier, which to many represented the start of Gothenburg’s decline. In a genre infested with soundalike In Flames clones on the one hand and metalcore on the other (with only rare, occasional bands producing something truly powerful and forward-looking), for a 2006 newcomer to impress would take something bloody spectacular. The most positive thought I managed to have while listening to this album was, “ah well... at least it’s not metalcore.”
Nothing about this album stands out whatsoever, apart from hazy memories of repetitive, unconvincing riffs and occasional pleasant guitar solos. The songs are all pretty much the same and it’s impossible to distinguish between them; that’s not to say that the band needed to employ a drastic change of style, such as was found throughout ‘Whoracle’ (a significantly flawed album that I now enjoy far, far less than when first exposed to it many years ago), but there’s no deviation from the standard formula and style of guitar playing, other than some songs featuring a greater focus on lead melodies.
Marcus Gasper yells the whole thing in a standard death metal growl that could really be anybody, lapsing very briefly into some clean singing on ‘Dead Reckoning,’ one of the slightly better songs, but still taking all of his influence directly from the forerunners of the Gothenburg scene. Guitarists Jens Scheiwe and Lars Dietrich are the most competent musicians, and come up with some enjoyable main riffs, nice leads and some even nicer solos, but it’s still not enough to properly distinguish these songs from the rest of the overpopulated scene. Hartmut Stoof’s drums have a processed, clinical sound that robs them of their energy, and try as he might in some songs more than others (especially ‘Torrent of Hatred’), this never reaches a level of heaviness beyond the old stereotype of melodic death sounding like Iron Maiden with laryngitis. Though nowhere near as great or amusing as that would be.
1. The Better Truth
2. For the End is Yet to Come
3. Godmode On
4. Symbols of Decay
5. The Outcome
6. Dead Reckoning
7. Soul Reactor
8. Mindbreaker
9. Torrent of Hatred Pt. I
10. Open Wound
11. The Media
While repeated listens would undoubtedly breed familiarity and a preference of some songs over others, it was difficult to find much to enjoy on my sole listen, largely due to the extreme sense of disappointment I felt. If this album was approached by a newcomer to the genre who hadn’t been exposed to In Flames or some of the superior bands such as Dark Tranquillity and Amon Amarth, they would probably find a whole lot more to enjoy in it, before later discovering where it was all stolen from and turning against the band in disgust. There are a few songs such as ‘Godmode On’ and ‘Mindbreaker’ in which the guitarists come up with a pretty fair forgery of the In Flames sound in their apparent quest for “the lost In Flames dual lead harmony melody,” but for each point of interest there are at least three songs to sap the soul. The attempt at Amon Amarth style slow heaviness in ‘Symbols of Decay’ is a real failure, and on occasions where the generically hostile lyrics are more audible such as near the beginning of ‘The Outcome,’ where Gasper tells me that he hates my soul, elicit a reflexive, out-of-character “f*** off” towards the stereo, which surprised me more than anybody.
There could not be a more generic and repetitive clone of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal than Absence’s debut, offering nothing whatsoever to fans who have moved on from those 90s bands and are searching for something new. The musicians have obvious talent that could be combined with a more powerful production and some genuinely original ideas to come up with something much better as a second release, and I’ll certainly make sure to check it out if that’s ever in the pipeline. Thousands of bands are playing this very same style, and it’s probable that Absence aren’t even in the top half.
Still, at least it’s not metalcore.
Advantages: Some twiddly solos and harmonies for guitar junkies.
Disadvantages: Completely pointless and unoriginal.
The Absence
Riders of the Plague
****
Written on 08.10.07
Florida’s The Absence are one of the more interesting modern bands playing melodic death metal, in that their material doesn’t just sound like a cheap imitation of In Flames during their less creative eras, and manages to exude aggression without descending into Soilwork-style metalcore. The sound is still rooted firmly in the oversaturated Gothenburg style, which keeps the band from producing anything truly original or inspired, and much of their latest album ‘Riders of the Plague’ reminds distinctly of At the Gates, one of the other Gothenburg originators, and the various projects its members have been involved with in more recent years such as The Crown.
There really is nothing in this distinctly Swedish sound that suggests this band hails from the region that brought us the early death metal from the likes of Death and Obituary, and only a competent cover of Testament’s ‘Into the Pit’ breaks the style slightly from a seriously heavy and melodic outburst interspersed with a few short-lived moments of calm. Unlike many melodic death bands that cruise along through a combination of derivative 80s heavy metal leads and relentless double bass drumming in a weak attempt to justify their mixed genre, The Absence are one of the more impressive bands that really strive to achieve aggression and harmony in equal measure, predominantly through the excellent range of the guitars (though there’s still the typical, mindless double bass assault that rarely lets up). Guitarists Peter Joseph and Patrick Pintaville, who also handled split bass duties on the recording, excel at unleashing powerful riffs reminiscent of The Crown, only more creative, and each song is loosely structured enough to allow for extended solos and lead sections that never sound showy or frivolous. Jeramie Kling’s drums are a fairly standard affair, but treated well by the clear and booming production, while Jamie Steward’s roaring vocals provide the foundation for the At the Gates comparison, sounding like a dead ringer for Tomas Lindberg.
1. Riders of the Plague
2. Dead and Gone
3. The Murder
4. Echoes
5. World Divides
6. Prosperity
7. Untitled
8. Awakening
9. Merciless
10. Into the Pit (Testament cover)
11. The Victorious Dead
12. Outro
Composed of medium length songs averaging just over five minutes, this album provides plenty of opportunities for its musicians to demonstrate their talents without dragging the proceedings on to an unreasonable length. There are no real weak tracks, but several that fail to stand out simply for sounding much like their companions, or for being too derivative of the overplayed Gothenburg sound, namely ‘World Divides’ and ‘The Awakening.’ The general trends remain much the same throughout the songs with occasional lapses and minor deviation, defining the band’s sound in the furious title track, lightening up with some In Flames style high guitars in ‘Dead and Gone’ (even featuring some of those silly but enjoyable Christmas riffs that band churned out during the mid-nineties), before taking a turn for the apocalyptic in ‘The Murder.’ This violent and angry song compliments the more melodic style of its neighbours, particularly the excellent ‘Echoes,’ in injecting life back into melodic death metal, making it catchy, violent and fun again, and reminding me of how exciting it all sounded years ago with the likes of Dark Tranquillity and Dismember, before endless copy-cat and metalcore bands made me jaded.
The second half of the album begins with an instrumental, providing an opportunity for the musicians to really show off their talents, but one that they don’t really take up. It’s a fine song, and the lead guitars that last almost throughout are great, but there were many points that it seemed more like a standard song lacking lyrics, which could easily have been inserted in the ‘verse’ riff sections. The oddest thing is the four second long, untitled seventh track, which seems only to have been included because the band didn’t like the idea of an odd-numbered track-list or something, I don’t know. The final section of the album is the most consistent and impressive, ‘Merciless’ being the most varied in speed and style, and ‘The Victorious Dead’ making a final, successful stab at the aggression that characterises much of this release. The Testament cover is much the same as the original, but with the vocals roared, the guitars given the melodeath treatment and the production notched up from 1988, and the final song is a pleasant and relaxing ‘Outro’ led by a squealing and victorious lead guitar that it’s quite sad to hear fading away as the album reaches the end.
In a genre increasingly overpopulated with similar-sounding bands, it’s always great to hear something that tries to improve on the work of its predecessors, even if The Absence and their contemporaries will never truly escape the Gothenburg sound they’re so rooted in. ‘Riders of the Plague’ is hard enough to please death metal fans who don’t mind excessive guitar solos, and The Absence and their ilk should be made compulsory listening to anyone who thought The Haunted were as brutal as it gets.
Advantages: Making melodic death metal interesting again.
Disadvantages: Still owes its sound entirely to earlier Swedish bands.
Abydos
The Little Boy's Heavy Mental Shadow Opera About the Inhabitants of His Diary
*****
Written on 12.10.07
I was a little wary in approaching Andy Kuntz’s rock opera solo project, as the rather naffly poetic lyrics and daydream subject matter (not to mention the silly long title) smelled malodorously like a cheap Ayreon knock-off gone even more pansy. Thus, I was very pleasantly surprised indeed to discover a pleasant and highly enjoyable fusion of prog rock and metal, no doubt inspired by Arjen Lucassen and many others, instead of a large slab of festering cheese about a magical toyland and things. Though admittedly, that does come into it a bit.
Kuntz’s voice (yes his name sounds a bit like a rude word, let’s all grow up can we?) excels here even more than in his more well-known prog metal band Vanden Plas, his expressive and exciting wail perfectly capturing the rock opera feel, without rising too high to put off those unaccustomed to the more fantastical side of metal. His voice reminds me most of Khan from American regal metal band Kamelot, though restricted to the middle range, and on the whole the album tends to vary between Ayreon’s self-style space metal (particularly the brilliant ‘Into the Electric Castle’ and ‘The Human Equation’ albums, though without the ensemble chorus) and the freeform instrumental side of Dream Theater around the ‘Metropolis’ era, though Kuntz’s voice is far superior to the often piercing James LaBrie. The sound varies between softer rock and harder metal, the latter mainly expressed through simplistic down-tuned riffs, and made for one of the most enjoyable listening experiences I’ve had in a while, even if the vomit-inducing lyrics prevented me from ever being fully absorbed into Kuntz’s neverworld.
1. The Inhabitants of His Diary
2. You Broke the Sun
3. Silence
4. Far Away from Heaven
5. Coppermoon (The Other Side)
6. Hyperion Sunset
7. God’s Driftwood
8. Radio Earth
9. Abydos
10. Green’s Guidance for a Strategy Adventure Game
11. Wild Flower Sky
12. A Boy Named Fly
The style shifts from soft to loud fairly often throughout this album, with a couple of songs standing out for being entirely one or the other, but there is a common sound running through them all to reinforce the idea of a concept album, and even better, all of the songs are very memorable; there isn’t a single song that I would rate as less than ‘very great’ apart from the quite stupid robot/alien narrative of track ten, though that’s forgivable as essentially a brief introduction to the next song. The introduction is a little surprising in that it starts in full swing without a fade-in or some kind of clichéd birdsong or baby wail that can usually be counted on showing up in a narrative album (in fact, there are no sound effects or distracting spoken word sections at any point in this album, relying entirely on the instruments and vocals), and after its brief spell comes the first great song, the album-defining ‘You Broke the Sun.’ Moving from an initially worrying Savatage-style piano ballad to a great mid-speed grooving song with nicely contrasting busy/loud and sparse/quiet sections, this could easily stand alone as a single and really sets up all the styles that will come into play later, including some pleasant acoustic guitar and limited synthesisers, though these will go seriously overboard in a great seventies way later on.
‘Silence’ begins one of the album’s trends of heavier, metal-based songs with wild instrumental breaks and fantastic loud guitar solos, which also forms the basis of the storyline’s other energetic moments in ‘Hyperion Sunset,’ ‘God’s Driftwood’ and the penultimate ‘Wild Flower Sky.’ This is where the Dream Theater sound is most prominent, though it could more accurately be defined as a Vanden Plas sound, while also reminding me of Threshold. ‘Far Away from Heaven’ takes the bold step of basing itself almost entirely on an acoustic and piano ballad, but it is performed with such passion and a lack of the unconvincing, chart-seeking cheese that made the descent of bands like Savatage into rock opera outfits so embarrassing. It’s actually really good, and I’d enjoy it even if it didn’t feature the even better second half of dark sounding guitars and orchestration.
This eerie orchestral sound is picked up by the later ‘Abydos,’ which confines the rock instruments to the background in favour of showcasing the symphonic elements and making me wish they were a little more prevalent in the other songs, rather than simply providing subtle mood and depth. This latter song is also quite reminiscent of Ayreon’s ‘Evil Devolution’ from ‘Into the Electric Castle,’ an album that may or may not have been in Kuntz’s mind and CD player when he composed these songs, but certainly shares similarity with many of the songs, most prominently the unapologetically synthesiser-based ‘Radio Earth’ which smacks distinctly of one particular song off that Ayreon release that I can’t quite put my finger on (one of the jolly, jangly acoustic ones). The dominant use of acoustic guitar also makes this song stand out as one of the most memorable on the album, as well as one of the most catchy, and may even provide some small consolation for Pink Floyd fans who wished that the jangly outro to their song ‘Sheep’ had been extended into a full song: this isn’t exactly the answer, but comes close to realising it.
The only real problem with this album is that it experiences something of a minor downfall at the end, with the penultimate ‘Wild Flower Sky’ being a little too inconsistent and all over the place in uncomfortable contrast to the strong and simple earlier pieces, displaying all the signs of an over-ambitious, cocky concept album reaching its conclusion and allowing the storyline to take over (which is at its weakest here, with a truly sub-Ayreon computer scenario that beats Lucassen tenfold in terms of geekiness). The final song, the climactic ‘A Boy Named Fly,’ is a good piece but far too long at twelve minutes to be fully absorbed, though it doesn’t demand the same attention of its listener as its predecessor. It’s a fairly satisfying conclusion that deals with the singer’s sincere thoughts and feelings rather than the escapism of the rest of the album, mainly the death of his father that apparently spurred the whole project on, and it only really suffers for coming so late in a reasonably lengthy album.
‘The Little Boy’s Heavy Mental Shadow Opera about the Inhabitants of His Diary,’ to give it its full title, is another impressive work of ambitious metal meeting progressive rock, and should be greeted warmly by fans of Ayreon in particular, as well as liberal-minded fans of prog metal acts such as Dream Theater and Shadow Gallery. Its strength lies in the general sound, energy and emotion of the piece rather than the technicalities, as much of the instrumentation is fairly simplistic when thinned out and examined individually, being driven by a virtuoso vocal performance by Andy Kuntz – though there are some very nice and varied guitar solos. A few songs are a little overlong, particularly towards the end of the album, but not to the extent that they count against the work, and even the zaniest mad-cap instrumental breaks all seem to make some kind of sense. Maybe I was just really in the mood for this type of music today, but something about this album made me enjoy every second and hope that the singer releases something else of a similar style in the future, though it would be unfortunate if it took a family tragedy each time.
Advantages: A great modern metal opera combining the best elements of the style and few of the weaknesses.
Disadvantages: The concept and lyrics themselves are far from riveting.
Accept
Metal Heart
****
Written on 14.10.07
I love 80s metal. No matter how deeply some of the more avant-garde recesses of my music collection try to impress me and tempt me over to a realm of depth and full sensual experience, it’s the simple, stupid enjoyment of 80s bands keeps me coming back for more, and Accept’s 1985 album is a perfect example. It’s called ‘Metal Heart,’ but this isn’t some kind of metaphor for a die-hard heavy metal fan, or elegy for a relationship gone bad, no. It’s a real metal heart. Full of wires and stuff, you can see it on the cover. I love heavy metal!
Unfortunately, the 80s were cursed with another, entirely different strand of stupid music in the form of disco, and Accept were one of several notable metal bands to head in that direction in pursuit of greater commercial success that never really arrived. Fortunately, with its loud and clear production and well adapted riffs, ‘Metal Heart’ is far less offensive to metal fans than Judas Priest’s ultimate dance floor blasphemy ‘Turbo’ released two years later, and should have been forced down those deluded Brummies’ earholes to instruct them how it should have been done. This album is a significant step down from Accept’s previous two releases in terms of speed and aggression, but the talents of lead guitarist Wolf Hoffman and the distinctive, oft-imitated vocal screech of Udo Dirkschneider are fleshed out fully by the impressive production job, making this satisfyingly powerful as well as damn catchy, a fine meeting of traditional metal with commercial rock that only makes a few major slip-ups.
1. Metal Heart
2. Midnight Mover
3. Up to the Limit
4. Wrong is Right
5. Screaming for a Love-Bite
6. Too High to Get it Right
7. Dogs on Leads
8. Teach Us to Survive
9. Living for Tonite
10. Bound to Fail
The whole album is based on simple and steady rhythms similar to dance beats without committing themselves, and Peter Baltes’ bass fills in for rhythm guitar very competently when the lead instruments go off on one, as they frequently do. Select songs are drenched in a soaking of keyboards, but these are restricted to atmospheric background duties and fortunately don’t interfere too greatly with the main melodies, as the result would almost certainly be embarrassing. As it stands, there’s only one song that’s truly quite awful and insulting to metal in the form of the (perhaps inevitable) love song ‘Screaming for a Love-Bite,’ ironically the track on which Udo’s voice is uncharacteristically restrained. The obvious song designed around the notion of being released a hit single, everything from the TV-game-show guitar riffs to the mellow singing in the chorus and the boring, monotonous drum plod place this firmly in rock ballad territory, but experienced listeners can easily skip around it on replays.
There are actually several different playing styles evident on this album, which makes the approach of each new track an exciting experience to look forward to, even if it sometimes leads to regret. The opening title track is a slice of pure 80s heavy metal with a long guitar build-up aided by some choral vocals seeming like a mix of Judas Priest’s classic opener ‘The Hellion’ and Manowar’s more bombastic moments, before the whole thing settles into a great riff and a provides a chance for Udo to strut his stuff with the lyrics that are sort of like a more confusing and more silly version of David Bowie’s apocalyptic ‘Five Years,’ though clearly not intentionally. Judas Priest seems to be the main influence, particularly as the playing has generally slowed down from the more distinctive niche Accept had defined for itself with the earlier albums that would eventually be followed almost identically by fellow German bands Running Wild and later Grave Digger. The most impressive moment of this song sees a complete break-off for Hoffman’s guitar, which noodles around with a Beethoven melody before the other instruments get what he’s doing and enthusiastically join in. It’s sad that this is probably the highlight of the album at such an early point, at least from a metal fan’s perspective, but there are plenty more unexpected gems to unearth as the parade continues.
‘Midnight Mover’ is an extremely pop-oriented and frustratingly catchy track that I enjoy and despise in equal measure, taking the album back to the 70s with some early Judas Priest/Deep Purple style hard rock riffs and AC/DC vocals in the verses making Udo even more unbearable, and to top it all off, an overwhelmingly cheesy chorus that for me, instantly conjures the image of a fictional music video of the band performing in make-up and sparkly glitter under flashing pink lights, smooching at the camera. It’s not pleasant, and it’s a fairly embarrassing thing to admit I actually enjoy a little bit, but it at least makes me smile and that’s what’s important. ‘Up to the Limit’ continues the hard rock vein without the terrible pop chorus this time, and as such has no real distinguishing features either good or bad, and ‘Wrong is Right’ rejuvenates the metal influence with an injection of some distinctly Helloween-sounding guitars, particularly interesting as that band hadn’t even started making albums quite yet. The embarrassment of the aforementioned fifth track leads to the album’s dullest section that plays around with ‘Turbo’ style metal but throws up nothing of much interest apart from a nice solo or two, and things improve for the final few offerings.
‘Teach Us to Survive’ is the first song for some time that ends at just the right time, without becoming over-repetitive to bulk out the forty minutes, and features some interesting Spanish-tinged guitar as well as prominent and speedy bass playing and some questionable finger clicking accompaniment towards the end. ‘Living for Tonite’ lives up to its waste-not attitude by launching into full-scale solos right from the onset, though the tediously plodding drums have become pretty dull by this late point in the album, and the whole thing is concluded on a grand scale with ‘Bound to Fail,’ probably the best song aside from the title track. Everything about this final song seeks attention, and it’s clear from the opening lead guitar that we’re either listening to a Christmas song or a grand finale by a band that imagines itself to be ever-so-slightly better than it actually is. Air guitar fans will be in heaven once the song launches into a series of riffs and solos, while the choral vocals come back in full force in an attempt to out-do Manowar, probably succeeding at the point of recording but sadly failing in the ludicrous stakes compared to that band’s later extravagance.
‘Metal Heart’ isn’t the album I’d recommend for fans of heavy metal, or even more specifically the 80s German scene that spawned a number of successful bands still going strong today, but it’s easily the most accessible for a wider audience and doesn’t compromise too much to get there. Anyone who enjoyed ‘Turbo Lover’ should make it a top priority, after which you can smash that sell-out LP and join us over on the dark side.
Advantages: Accessible pop-tinged metal that still sounds great, with a wide diversity of styles.
Disadvantages: Some inevitably terrible, awful songs.
AC/DC
Powerage
****
Written on 15.10.07
By the release of their fifth album ‘Powerage,’ Australia-based, mostly-Scottish hard rock band AC/DC truly defined their famous sound for the first time, and produced the first of their classic albums that’s also perhaps the least well-known. The same old issues remain of the international versions being re-mixed and re-ordered, but for the first time both versions feature the same cover art: lead guitarist Angus Young being electrocuted (by alternating or direct current?) and fixing the buyer with a steely glare as if daring them to play this lethal record. Despite my better judgement, this band comes next on my A-Z of album reviews and I am forced to enter.
In truth, it’s not that devastating, but once the album gets going there’s a great energy that drives the whole thing along to its conclusion at forty minutes. The band is no longer simply playing sped-up rock ’n’ roll, but continuing to define its own sound based on the other 70s hard rock acts, and the Young brothers’ signature guitars really come into play as the simplistic backbone of all the songs, meaning that each riff has to be worth listening to on a repeated loop for four or so minutes. Drummer Phil Rudd (the band’s only true Aussie at this point) keeps up with catchy and reliable backing beats without demonstrating too much flair, and apart from a brief solo spot on ‘Sin City,’ new bassist Cliff Williams (from Romford) is easy to overlook.
Of course, equally important to the guitars is the vocal performance of the late Bon Scott who would record one more album with the band before dying after a bout of heavy drinking in Camden. This is a real shame, as I have infinitely more tolerance for his traditional and highly energised rock singing than the irritating gargly warbling of his more famous successor, who my friend Dan ingeniously and accurately described as sounding like he’s gargling with a throatful of those hard chip-ends you get at the bottom of the bag. Thankfully, there’s none of that here, and Scott is free to dance around the repeating instruments to convey tales of broken relationships, drug overdoses, life on the road and escapism through alcohol. Rock ’n’ roll.
1. Rock ’n’ Roll Damnation
2. Down Payment Blues
3. Gimme a Bullet
4. Riff Raff
5. Sin City
6. What’s Next to the Moon
7. Gone Shootin’
8. Up to My Neck in You
9. Kicked in the Teeth
Despite the repetitive sound, which took some getting used to now I’ve grown accustomed to more experimental works, this album boasts a reasonable variety of songs, from short and simple angry hard rock to lengthier and more laid-back blues-based compositions, and admirably seems to improve with each track before peaking at ‘What’s Next to the Moon,’ an amusing tale of a man’s desire to top his lover in all manner of exciting ways before being apprehended by a police officer and revealing/pretending that she died disappointingly of a heart attack. Featuring a brief harmonica, great guitar solo and the album’s most energetic riffs, particularly in the chorus, this is probably the album’s defining moment, but that doesn’t mean the rest pales in comparison. ‘Gimme a Bullet,’ despite its depressing subject matter, rocks along at an enjoyable pace and shares a distinct vocal melody with Judas Priest’s later, lesser song ‘Troubleshooter,’ while the album’s concluding songs up the ante to deliver Scott and the Youngs’ most energetic performances of the lot, yelling and pounding their way through ‘Up to My Neck in You’ and the suitably aggressive ‘Kicked in the Teeth’ to ensure the album ends on a high and leaves a lasting impression.
That’s not to say the rest of the album isn’t up to scratch, featuring some of the band’s most proclaimed works (from this early period at least). ‘Riff Raff’ takes a looser approach allowing time out for brief experimentation, mostly expressed through a really long guitar solo and one of several minute-long intro riffs of the album, while Scott’s vocals take on an angrier sound for the first time. The famous ‘Sin City’ is a little slower but no less impressive, beginning with a generic riff that could come from any other song here before unveiling the memorable vocal melody that makes this song so popular and the most distinctively AC/DC here, if that makes any sense. ‘Down Payment Blues’ and ‘Gone Shootin’’ are the two songs still lagging behind in blues-rock territory, but permissibly and enjoyably so at such different points in the album, and the slower riffs, more thoughtfully delivered lyrics and chilled guitar solos work great against the more upbeat companion pieces, though they’re perhaps less entertaining when listened to in isolation. First and unfortunately least is the opener ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Damnation’ which was the only song I didn’t really enjoy, and seems a little too self-consciously rooted in tradition, something that can’t have been helped by its title.
As someone who’s been put off by Brian Johnson’s rubbish chip-end-throated voice in the past, it was great to discover an earlier period of AC/DC where this wouldn’t prove a drawback, and Bon Scott is excellent here, even if he ultimately sounds a little bit like every other rock singer of the time. I’ve never understood the need to sound American when playing this type of music; would people really be put off by full-blooded Scottish hard rock? And what type of Scot calls it a ‘railroad track’ anyway? Just one of many problems I have with the music business and the stupid general consumers. ‘Powerage’ is a great album of easily approachable rock songs towards the grittier end of the spectrum, but remaining catchy and melodic enough to keep it from deterring people who might be a little wary of the subject matter. ‘Highway to Hell’ is more famous, but this is where it all really started. And just try listening to the whole thing in the morning without the riffs playing through your head for the rest of the day.
Advantages: A solid album of approachable, high-energy hard rock.
Disadvantages: Nothing too innovative or spectacular, but that's sort of the point.
Acid Bath
When the Kite String Pops
***
Written on 18.10.07
The long-defunct Acid Bath played a variety of sludge doom metal infused with influences from their native Louisiana roots, resulting in something of a cross between the gritty riffs of Black Sabbath, the Southern anger of contemporary groove metal bands like Pantera, and even some moderate outbursts of death metal. ‘When the Kite String Pops’ is the first of only two albums the popular outfit recorded before the death of bassist Audie Pitre from a collision with a drunk driver in 1997, when the band respectfully called it a day and frontman Dax Riggs went on to found a number of ambitious projects.
Acid Bath’s music is really more suited to the pent-up rage of moshing teenagers than self-satisfied metal nerds like myself, but the doom influence keeps this album of interest to me for the most part, even if I resent it a little for becoming overrated in the way all American bands inevitably do, in comparison to their hard-working European equivalents. Ranging frequently from violent cacophony to reflective calm several times within each song, with a couple of exceptions sticking steadfastly to each extreme, ‘When the Kite String Pops’ is a generous offering of fourteen similar-sounding songs to entertain patient listeners for just over an hour, provided they can stomach the aural assault and Dax Riggs’ deliberately violent, occasionally gruesome lyrics. Perhaps in a further bid for notoriety with the kids, the cover art is taken from a painting called ‘Pogo the Clown #15/Skull Clown #171’ by incarcerated serial killer and cannibal John Wayne Gacy. Perhaps I’m inferring too much of the band; maybe they just really liked the picture.
1. The Blue
2. Tranquilized
3. Cheap Vodka
4. Finger Paintings of the Insane
5. Jezebel
6. Scream of the Butterfly
7. Dr. Seuss is Dead
8. Dope Fiend
9. Toubabo Koomi
10. God Machine
11. The Mortician’s Flame
12. What Colour is Death?
13. The Bones of Baby Dolls
14. Cassie Eats Cockroaches
The style of this album varies very little throughout its extensive playing time, based primarily on simplistic, extremely down-tuned and distorted guitar riffs usually played at medium speed, with occasional outbursts into a thrash assault. The late Pitre’s bass is a key ingredient of the already bass-heavy sound, accompanying Sammy Duet and Mike Sanchez’s guitars or filling in when they’re absent, while Jimmy Kyle’s drums get plenty of time in the spotlight when the rest of the band’s backs are turned, and he gets to show off his clicky double bass pedals in performances reminiscent of Pantera’s Vinnie Paul. Riggs’ vocals are an interesting feature, equally weighted between a distinctive Southern U.S. low singing and distorted hardcore shouting, occasionally broadening his range in the softer songs. The band isn’t about skilled musicianship as much as it’s about the release of hatred and frustration at the end of the weekly grind, never making proper use of its two guitarists and clearly not paying any attention to the commercial prospects that would doubtless come their way if only they calmed down a little. The introductions and endings of a number of songs are infected with serious guitar feedback, clearly left it on purpose and adding to the generally stoned and careless attitude the band succeeds in conveying.
Doubtless angsty youths will appreciate the mindless assault of songs such as the opener ‘The Blue’ and the other speedy swear-fests such as ‘Cheap Vodka,’ ‘Jezebel’ and a couple of tracks towards the end, but these really aren’t for me. I’ve polluted myself so much with this heavy metal thing that sludge bands’ anger sounds practically contented compared to the more violent excesses of Scandinavian scene, and their attempts to shock or provoke appear fairly tame when viewed alongside the disgusting themes, album covers and lyrics of their own country’s brutal death metal. Far more interesting are the songs like ‘Tranquilized,’ which fittingly takes on a slightly slower, truly droning tone and entrances the listener for several minutes with a more modern equivalent of the Black Sabbath sound, throwing out the occasional random, squealing and pleasantly amateurish guitar solo as Riggs sings in a gruff-but-soft tone similar to bands such as Tool. The lengthy ‘Finger Paintings of the Insane’ is even better, featuring some plodding, doomy sections that sound a lot like Candlemass, and based around some very half-hearted lead melodies that play a little bit of an Egyptian theme, but then can’t be bothered. It’s cool, and Kyle’s drumming is used sparingly and ominously in the slower sections to create a great atmosphere; the only problem is the slightly muted vocal performance towards the end, which sounds like it might be rap (and there was me claiming proudly that I didn’t own any), but might just as easily be Riggs mumbling on about something or other. The listener really isn’t supposed to be paying attention by now, as whatever they’re smoking makes them more concerned with flying, or whatever those drugs make people do.
Perhaps my favourite song is oddly the biggest diversion of the whole album, the fully acoustic ‘Scream of the Butterfly.’ Clearly aiming to be this album’s ‘Planet Caravan,’ the band refrains from leaping into all-out noise despite prominent heavy percussion from Kyle that oddly doesn’t seem out of place with the laid-back bass and acoustic guitar. Riggs’ singing takes on a more traditional sound in this softer piece, sounding similar to rock bands of the time such as Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains, and it’s a really nice, almost psychedelic release that thankfully isn’t spoiled by the next song leaping back into heaviness straight away. Although it’s soon back to the normal order, ‘Dr. Seuss is Dead’ at least begins with some slow feedback and an enjoyable bit of groove metal. The penultimate ‘Bones of Baby Dolls’ is the other acoustic song on here, but a bit more forced and less refined, surrounded by the heaviest offerings of the album in the form of the energetic ‘What Colour is Death?’, annoyingly reminiscent of System of a Down in several places despite predating that ridiculously popular band, and the final ‘Cassie Eats Cockroaches’ that sees the band pour all of its remaining force into a near-death-metal attack interspersed with distorted but relevant samples from films, opening with a line from ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and ending the album with Riggs’ line: ‘they suck the meat from her bones.’ Just about sums it up really.
Acid Bath is a bit of a departure from the norm for me, but an interesting piece of nineties sludge-doom all the same. Although the annoying distorted shouting reminds me unpleasantly of later youth-angst bands like Slipknot, they suit the overall fuzzy sound of this release, particularly the droning guitars, and were clearly innovative at the time. Dax Riggs went on to found Agents of Oblivion, whose name begins with ‘Ag’ and will therefore clearly pop up in my review list some time in the near future. As for Acid Bath’s second album, I don’t think I’ll bother; this is all the Pantera-esque Southern violent doom I need in my life right now.
Advantages: Innovatively harsh-sounding, and effectively violent.
Disadvantages: Too aggressive at cost to creativity, and not enough focus on pure doom metal.
Acid Mothers Temple
***
Written on 20.10.07
With its combined title paying tribute to two well-loved rock albums of the early seventies, ‘Starless and Bible Black Sabbath’ has thus far been the most prominent and (relatively speaking) high-profile release from Japanese experimental/psychedelic rock band The Acid Mothers Temple & the Cosmic Inferno, the most recent off-shoot of guitarist Kawabata Makoto’s prolific Acid Mothers Temple ‘collective.’ The album consists of a mere two songs but lasts for forty minutes; in the spirit of classic progressive rock, the title track is a mammoth recording lasting nearly thirty-five minutes, supplemented by a vastly different and much shorter companion piece. It’s also not the kind of album that could be easily approached by casual listeners, requiring, like much avant-garde music, a comprehensive knowledge of how music is supposed to sound in order to appreciate this for sounding so wildly different.
In truth, there’s nothing phenomenal or ground-breaking about this album, or the premise of releasing a part noise-rock, largely psychedelic record over thirty years since it all began, but it’s an enjoyable enough oddity even if, by its very nature, it’s not going to get played very often. The first song is partly a re-working of Black Sabbath’s classic self-titled song from their classic self-titled album, featuring a rainy intro, slow main section and spring into something slightly faster and more upbeat later on, but it’s by no means a simple cover song, an it does more than simply stretch the original to an unreasonable five or so times its acceptable length (though it does that as well). This music is loud and busy, as opposed to Sabbath’s loud and stoned approach, and even though the first eight minutes consist essentially of repeating the same dark and simple guitar riff, the band creates a great spacey atmosphere through the odd dual drums of Okana Futoshi and Shimura Koji, the bleeping and booping keyboards of Higashi Hiroshi and Tabata Mitsuru’s distant, echoed vocals.
The main instrument of note that clearly dominates and controls all the proceedings is Kawabata’s skilled guitar, which slips into solo often without the listener even realising it. His proficiency is deliberately toned down a little here to keep the song a little hypnotic and to avoid unnecessary distraction, and even though he replicates Tony Iommi’s original riff precisely, when the song hits its stride for seven or so minutes in the middle, the whole thing very soon becomes drowned in his solos to the extent that it doesn’t even matter. And it’s not like they were trying to hide their influence in any case, with a song title, album title and album cover all paying respect to those whacked-out Brummies. The song’s major drawback is simply that it’s far too long to maintain the listener’s interest, making it suitable only as background music or for the other purposes used by veteran fans of psychedelia, as the song only really changes with a pleasant bit of acoustic strumming in the last couple of minutes.
‘Woman from a Hell’ kicks up the speed by several thousand notches and shifts from psychedelic metal tribute to psychedelic punk tribute, but otherwise the ingredients and focus are all the same: Kawabata shows off with his guitar for a while, and everyone else bulks out the sound with zaps, crashes and wails. It’s a successfully energetic song, even if it does descend into outright obnoxious masturbation at the end, and I enjoy listening to absurdly talented guitarists showing off about once or twice a year, so it satisfies that part of me, as well as the part that enjoys hearing men make their guitars sound distinctly like 1980s video game music. The song crackles to death at the end, presumably to tie in with the beginning of the album in case anyone was mad or trippy enough to stick the thing on repeat, but listened to in isolation this is a very enjoyable song, even if it is once again rooted firmly in the past.
The Acid Mothers Temple & the Cosmic Inferno is an interesting musical project, but largely derivative of and less spectacular than many of the other, more prominent experimental groups working out of Japan and elsewhere, but as a sort of modern-day, drugged-up revamping of seventies staples, this album does its job satisfactorily. The oddest thing comes in the alleged King Crimson tribute which isn’t really noticeable, apart from some guitar tendencies that you could suggest were inspired by Robert Fripp if you were desperate to find a match. What’s more, that band’s ‘Starless and Bible Black’ was never even much of a classic anyway, being a hastily and quite shoddily produced bit of discography filler between classics of a similarly unreliable but interesting musical outfit. I can only surmise that Acid Mothers Temple members whiled away those lonely nights on tour by playing an album titles game, in which the last word of the first player’s title had to be the first word of the second’s. I guess this would have been the first move, after which only ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ could be played, after which you’re screwed.
Let’s face it, if any band’s going to spend their time playing pointlessly erudite games like that, it’s these guys.
Advantages: Varied styles to be enjoyed by psychedelic freaks and guitar fans.
Disadvantages: Highly derivative and overlong.
Adagio
Dominate
Submit
***
Written on 25.10.07
The arrival of talented Brazilian vocalist Gustavo Monsanto signalled great things to come from Adagio, France’s answer to Symphony X, but unfortunately last year’s ‘Dominate’ failed to live up to their past glories. Gone are the impressive neoclassical elements for the most part, restricted to Stéphan Forté’s brief lead guitar passages in the style of Michael Romeo or a laid-back Yngwie J. Malmsteen, while Kevin Codfert’s keyboards now sound just about the same as every other power metal band that fancies itself as a bit progressive. One of the most noticeable and drastic changes is evident within the first minute of the album, as Monsanto’s pleasant mid-range singing gives way to one of the least effective death metal growls I’ve heard in a long time, as Adagio seemingly attempt to join the melodic death metal bandwagon despite sharing few other similarities besides a couple of particularly heavy passages in assorted songs that last for all of thirty seconds.
I’m being a bit harsh on this album, essentially a collection of quite enjoyable modern metal songs, but it’s because it disappointed me so much. Adagio’s ‘Underworld’ was an excellent release that combined the usually pretentious and tedious neoclassical metal genre with genuinely powerful and enjoyable prog metal in the vein of America’s Symphony X, but here that band’s influence is allowed to dominate (ironically), the only release being in the more traditionally power metal songs that owe equally to Brazil’s Angra and to older artists such as Dio. Note those names down if you didn’t know them already, and hunt their albums down, after which you can return to this as a sort of disappointing epilogue. Beginning as a seemingly straightforward prog-power album in the vein of Angra, something that wouldn’t have been entirely unpleasant, the rest of the songs tend towards blatant Symphony X forgery that are, at their best, effective but inferior copies of the real deal, and at their worst churn out a couple of cheesy eighties rock ballads. There’s even a pointless cover of Irene Cara’s ‘Fame’ that departs from the original in all but the vocal melody, yet doesn’t do anything interesting with the song (you know, THAT ‘Fame.’ Yeah, the eighties thing. No, not that one, that’s ‘Gold’ you’re thinking of, this is that other one that’s pretty much the same as that. Yeah, that one).
1. Fire Forever
2. Arcanas Tenebrae/Dominate
3. Terror Jungle
4. Children of the Dead Lake
5. R’Lyeh the Dead
6. The Darkitecht
7. Kissing the Crow
8. Fame
9. Undying [Japanese bonus track]
The first song is really good, even if it’s nothing new. A relatively straightforward power metal anthem permitted to mess around a little towards the end with some guitar noodling and a cool solo, this song is a great introduction for new vocalist Monsanto, even if his growls are a little distracting and unpleasant. His default range is great, booming in the middle like his finest contemporaries, and he has a good singing voice too, so it’s a shame he doesn’t use it more. Like most simple metal songs, this is mainly remembered for the enjoyable chorus in which Monsanto wails the title against a barrage of fast and nicely developed instrumentation, there really isn’t anything to fault this track as an album opener. The semi-title track is another good effort, although a little long, in which the heavier elements come to the fore with greater reliance on growled vocals and double bass drums complete with some blast beats and what the band imagines are black metal keyboard melodies. It’s a little confused, seemingly trying to earn praise for being heavier than it actually is in the style of many melodeath bands, but once again it’s the chorus that stays with the listener as they try to type a review afterwards, this time performed in the medium range to suit the slightly darker tone.
It’s with the third track that the album starts to disappoint by relying too much on its influences and essentially throwing out a number of songs that could be considered Symphony X B-sides. The way the drums and guitars hammer out clinically precise rhythms in perfect time with each other before giving way to a keyboard melody is taken straight from Symphony X, and even the main riff, once it develops, reminds me completely of that band around the period of the ‘V’ album, released six years earlier. This song is notable for a cool bass lead section, in which Franck Hermanny seems intent to prove his credentials by playing a number of unusual high notes before returning to his back seat, but once everything settles down into verses and choruses the style once again shifts into what I can’t help but identify as 90s Dio, using the same slowed, near-doom heavy riffs and vocal style as the former Black Sabbath frontman. Perhaps realising that there’s nothing left to lose, the band then transform into 80s Dio for ‘Children of the Dead Lake,’ though this more upbeat song is more interesting for its instrumental sections in the second half, culminating in a speedy piano ditty in the vein of Rimsky Korsakov’s ‘Sting of the Bumblebee,’ only less fun.
Perhaps the stand-out track of the album, though not quite my favourite, is also the last point at which the album is really worth listening to. The epic ‘R’Lyeh the Dead’ begins with yet another dingy keyboard intro, though this time extended as a proper introduction for this eight-minute piece, complete with what are probably synthesised violins but still sound very nice, before a dirty guitar crawls up into the tomb and unleashes the heaviest riffs of the album, accompanied by a steady and enjoyable drum beat. The reason this song works where track three failed is that the heavy sound here is a natural development of the band’s standard tone, rather than a blatant failed attempt to sound like death metal, although Monsanto does growl predominantly once again. The majority of the song is enjoyable and suitably demonic, excepting the light and cheerful keyboard solo that Codfert decided was a good idea to include for some reason or other, while the last few minutes are another chance for the band to show off within reason, and according to taste. It’s a little too long, but this is an enjoyable song that keeps the album from being a complete failure; it’s just a shame that everything afterwards is of little value.
‘The Darkitecht’ follows a similar formula to the rest of the album, beginning slowly with a section that seems to draw directly on Black Sabbath’s 1970 title song (Note: If you’re thinking of ripping something off and hope nobody will notice, don’t pick the very first metal song ever recorded), but the rest is the usual Symphony X worship, complete with a keyboard solo overlaid on top of an instrumental jam that could come from pretty much any of their early recordings. The fade out at the end would act as a form of relief, if not for the horror of the next song: ‘Kissing the Crow’ is without a doubt the worst song here and shatters the mould completely, a short piano ballad with soft singing that robs Monsanto of all his charm. After that comes the infamous cover of ‘Fame,’ unrecognisable until the chorus comes in and Monsanto delivers the well-known lines in a disinterested manner. There might be a guitar solo or something, I don’t really care. Many versions of the album conclude with the bonus track ‘Undying,’ which fits perfectly into the sound of the album and even tends a little more towards the power metal direction of the opening song, though by this point I was too fatigued and disillusioned by the preceding offerings to enjoy this average extra as much as I perhaps would otherwise.
I’d strongly advise against buying Adagio’s most recent album, not that any of you were going to anyway, and instead aim to track down their excellent ‘Underworld’ or perhaps the more highly rated albums of the bands they seem content to steal from, namely Angra’s ‘Temple of Shadows’ and anything from Symphony X. Gustavo Monsanto proves that he’s a great vocalist when he’s not trying too hard to sound angry, and Stéphan Forté has proven his guitar abilities many times, so I’m hopeful that this album doesn’t represent the start of a downturn for these otherwise impressive Gauls.
Advantages: Competent and enjoyable progressive power metal.
Disadvantages: A couple of terrible songs, and far too derivative of Symphony X.
Adorned Brood
Wigand
**
Written on 27.10.07
‘Wigand’ is the second album from German folk metal band Adorned Brood, and seems to be generally considered by their small but loyal fan base to be their finest work. Incorporating a significant folk influence into their otherwise standard black metal sound, including prominent flutes, acoustic guitar and light percussion, listening to the album really gives the impression that it was recorded by travelling minstrels in a Rheinland forest sometime in the middle ages, convincing in all but the tell-tale electric guitars. Such a specialist and distinctive style of music is bound to be an acquired taste, and although I have listened to enough odd metal from across Europe to prepare me for Adorned Brood’s eccentricity, they unfortunately left me feeling unsatisfied. Folk-influenced black metal has been around for a significant time, particularly in the Swedish Viking metal scene, and although these Germans’ take seems rather interesting and overly dedicated at first, the repetitive sound and jarring elements make it a rather tedious chore to sit through these overlong compositions in one listen.
Adorned Brood are talented musicians, but far from being virtuosos, and the somewhat amateurish sound, while enjoyable, is also betrayed by the poor quality of the lyrics. Repeated themes of swords and battles with the occasional tip of the hat to Odin and his brethren present the standard, unsurprising folk metal subject matter, but it’s all too clear that the band’s grasp of the English language is far from fully developed. The use of broken English in the first half of the album is especially confusing even beyond the grammatical level, as this band’s primary audience will undoubtedly be in their homeland and those countries to the North-East, and folk-influenced black metal is perhaps the most common genre in which native language is encouraged, as it adds to the authentic, back-to-the-roots sound the bands are trying to go for. Bizarrely, the album shifts to German language half-way through and the lyrics become far more substantial and detailed, even if the themes are still a little redundant, inviting the obvious question of why it wasn’t kept German all the way through; it’s not as if the vocals, which are mainly growled, are understandable anyway.
Adorned Brood’s line-up has never been quite stable, and this was the last outing for several members of the original band. Frontman Teutobot Frost plays bass guitar, which is hardly audible in the typical fuzzy production, and his vocals follow the typical folk metal formula of inhuman-sounding black metal growls interspersed with more harmonious deep singing. Mirko “Pagan” Klier is joined by newcomer Andreas (replacing Oberon) on guitars, which are kept at natural standard tuning but fuzzed out once again by the production, and although this duty mainly requires speeding along with a repetitive riff in the majority of songs, there are a few interesting deviations, original riffs and fine acoustic touches to make the guitars the stand-out instrument of the piece. Mike “Ariovist” Engelmann provides both blasting black metal drums and the lighter percussion, and is adept enough to very between fast metal assaults and a slower tempo when required in this final outing with the band, while newcomer Ingeborg Anna really makes her presence felt in providing a few pleasant female vocals and a very dominant lead flute, which stands out clearly in the mix and is the main ingredient in nearly all songs to keep this distinctly ‘folk’ as well as metal.
1. Völüspa
2. The Way of the Sword
3. Spiritual Weaponry
4. Wapen
5. The Oath
6. Wigand
7. Zeichen von Zauberkraft
8. Jord Dvalin
I enjoy folk influenced metal, but for the most part this album sounds like rather bland nineties black metal attempting to set itself apart through the dominant presence of flutes. The only song that really stands out as a perfect meeting of the two genres is the excellent title track, which pulls out all the stops in featuring interesting and enjoyable guitar riffs and lead sections, interspersed with effective folk sections that don’t act as a distraction, and moving organically towards a nice ending led out by alternating male and female vocals. There’s a great deal of energy present in this song that is unfortunately lacking elsewhere in the recording after the opening song ‘The Way of the Sword’ (after the brief introductory track), which showcases everything that works about the band as well as demonstrating the limitations and problems with its sound. The shift from folk to metal in this song is all too sudden, with very obvious seams as the electric guitar kicks in and diffuses the pleasant atmosphere almost entirely, although the chirpy flute playing over the depressing, infernal din is a satisfyingly unusual audio experience that soon becomes quite old and repetitive as the album moves on.
The other major problems with these songs apart from the tedium and incompatibility of elements is the unjustified average length, as the tracks range from at least six minutes to nearly eleven after the afore-mentioned ‘The Way of the Sword’ which restricts itself to five. This music is largely about atmosphere and thus the length doesn’t always present an issue, but there are several instances where it really feels like the song should have concluded some time ago. The worst offender is ‘Wapen,’ the longest song on the album and one that fails to do anything remotely interesting with its allotted time span, even pausing for no reason at several points towards the end with a ‘false’ ending before the cheap sound effects of battle fade back in with unprofessional clumsiness and the guitar riffs return once more. The same thing happens with the next-longest piece, the penultimate ‘Zeichen von Zauberkraft’ which is far too repetitive, before a very confusing turnaround sees its successor ‘Jord Dvalin’ do the exact opposite, packing far too many style shifts and changes into ten minutes to make any kind of coherence whatsoever, even making me question whether this song was cobbled together from a set of unused ideas that couldn’t be incorporated into the others.
There is a general lack of professionalism throughout this whole album, which doesn’t present a major problem in terms of its small target audience, and does endear it to me somewhat, but the quality of songwriting is unfortunately reflective of the low budget. The folk elements are all quite nice, but become very similar-sounding after the first couple of songs, when Ingeborg Anna has done her best Ian Anderson flute impersonation and doesn’t really know what to do with herself any longer. The black metal is even more repetitive and dull, making the lengthier folk sections and entirely folk songs such as ‘The Oath’ the more entertaining parts of the album, generally speaking. Black metal fans will be irritated by the flutes and soft singing, while folk fans will obviously be scared back into the woods when encountering the harsh black metal on their travels, and even those who enjoy both in the music of bands such as Bathory, Månegarm and Týr will be used to folk metal of a significantly higher standard, where you can’t audibly hear the flute player taking a gasp of air before every melody. ‘Wigand’ is recommended only for folk metal/black metal fans who are curious about the incorporation of flute as a major instrument in place of lead guitars, but apart from the cool title track that uses all the band’s best ideas, there’s very little of interest after the first tenth of the album is over and done with.
Advantages: Interesting and dogmatic take on the folk metal genre.
Disadvantages: Becomes repetitive and dull fairly quickly, winding up discordant more often than harmonious.
Aereogramme
Non-ish
**
Written on 28.10.07
Scotland’s Aereogramme was yet another bland and derivative act passing itself off as either indie or progressive rock, without really being either. ‘My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go’ is one of the shallowest and most boring albums I’ve come across for a long time, and it’s hard to believe that vocalist Craig B effectively disbanded the group due to problems caused by his vocal performance, which does indeed dominate the proceedings but only in the same hushed and squeaking manner as the minimal instrumentation. The only real function of this sub-‘Disintegration’ release could be as lullaby music, as this seems to be the inspiration, or at least the outcome of most of the pianos and timid guitars.
Like the Cure’s masterwork, this album incorporates synthesised orchestration and violins in an attempt to reach a grander, more eloquent sound, but the soundscape remains so quiet and inactive that it largely escapes the listener’s attention. The classical instruments come to the fore in ‘Barriers,’ which essentially means a slightly more interesting violin replacing the tedious David Gilmour styled guitar solo of songs like ‘A Life Worth Living,’ and ‘Nightmares’ fails miserably in its brief attempts to replicate Danny Elfman. This band has two guitarists in the form of Craig B and Iain Cook but this doubling up is largely superfluous, only really coming into play when acoustic and electric are played against each other in ‘Living Backwards,’ the only truly progressive or entertaining song on here that acts as a sort of dimly gleaming bit of glass in the arid musical desert.
I really was surprised at just how little there was to each song, most of which are based on a simple main melody or rhythm played either on hushed guitar or piano backed up by softly tapping drums, as if the whole band is scared of waking someone above the recording studio, or perhaps fearful that louder volume may reveal their lack of ability. The majority of choruses consist of Craig B squeaking the song’s title in endless repetition, and after four minutes we end up nowhere interesting at all, as another song comes on to replace its predecessor by sounding almost exactly the same. I’m not fond of Craig B’s effeminate voice, another Scot imitating an American, but thankfully the band seems to realise this and his most irritating performance yet on ‘The Running Man’ is mercifully followed by two more subdued offerings.
Aereogramme is (or rather was) yet another tediously tranquil indie band desperate to be picked out as ‘summer music’ by people who enjoy lying on beaches and spacing out to nothingness, even though their relaxation is constantly hampered by the nagging need to check whether the album is still playing, or if that’s just the gentle lull of the waves in the distance. I don’t really understand the need for music like this: not particularly relaxing due to the few louder moments and the prominent vocals, lacking entirely in energy, catchiness or hummability, and boasting repetitive and generic lyrics. Some would argue that less is more, but then what’s the reasoning behind the shoehorned orchestration? My guess is it’s there to cover up the lack of actual music being produced by the timid quartet. In any case, there are roughly infinity better bands out there to suit whatever occasion, season or mood the band’s previous management may have desperately tried to market them towards, so you’d be better off buying something according to random selection.
1. Conscious Life for Coma Boy
2. Barriers
3. Exits
4. A Life Worth Living
5. Finding a Light
6. Living Backwards
7. Trenches
8. Nightmares
9. The Running Man
10. You’re Always Welcome
11. Dissolve
Advantages: Could conceivably work well to lull babies to sleep, unless they're especially picky.
Disadvantages: Utterly boring and frustratingly quiet.
Aeveron
The Ancient Realm
Wanderer Returns
****
Written on 29.10.07
The most recent E.P. from Germany’s Aeveron (from Zwickau) sees them head towards an epic black metal direction without losing any of the pleasant melodies and harmonies that characterised their earlier upbeat death metal. Although black metal tends to be regarded with some disdain by the majority of people due to preconceptions of overly distorted production, identical-sounding songs and tendencies towards Satanism, this is only true for about 98% of bands. Only joking – in fact, much popular opinion of the genre is understandably influenced by the high profile of bands such as England’s own Cradle of Filth, whose mixture of tongue-in-cheek blasphemy and gothic fashion sense overpowers their music, which hasn't really been anything like black metal for about fifteen years. The infamous murders and church arsons of the early nineties carried out by young idiots at the forefront of Norway’s black metal movement add to this unfavourable impression, but over the years bands have increasingly experimented with the sound and taken it in new and interesting directions. This short but promising release from Aeveron combines several of these strands into one, creating something along the lines of melodic epic folk black metal that can be traced equally to their modern contemporaries in the genre, as well as the lighter gothic metal popularised by Finland.
The reflective, Tolkeinesque cover art epitomises this album’s sound, and divulges some clue for metal fans familiar with the likes of Summoning as to the grand, almost orchestral stance that these songs will take on. In truth, this is most prevalent in the penultimate song where the E.P. borders on more traditional black metal than the earlier offerings, which are still heavily influenced by the band’s previous style of melodic death metal. Each band member is referred to only by their first name, and it isn’t clear whether the obvious double vocal track represents the combined powers of vocalist Thomas and drummer Paul, who is also credited with vocals, or the result of over-dubbing Thomas on top of himself. The vocals are one of the album’s finest features either way, alternating between a primary black metal growl and far more pleasant singing in restricted sections of choruses, where Thomas (I assume it’s him) demonstrates his excellent voice. Matthias performs rhythm guitar while Kay handles the excellent leads, though there are times when twin lead guitars can clearly be heard – again perhaps due to overdubbing, I can’t be sure. Dirk’s bass doesn’t really do anything special, but then I always say that in album reviews, while the aforementioned Paul plays around nicely on the drums, refraining from blasting and double bassing his way through as lesser black metal drummers tend to. Completing the unit is Markus, whose keyboards are essential in creating the background atmosphere, while also being given free reign on occasion to twiddle around with pleasant melodies.
1. Far Beyond the Horizon
2. The Stranger
3. Fallen into Oblivion
4. Battle of Retaliation
5. For All Eternity
Although boasting five songs, this twenty minute E.P. more truthfully consists of three major songs lasting between five and six minutes, and shorter introduction and finale tracks of around two minutes. Despite obviously paling in comparison, these bookending pieces work perfectly for their intended purpose, and are essentially two halves of the same piece, similar to Pink Floyd’s ‘Pigs on the Wing.’ The first is performed entirely by the keyboard in a melody memorable enough to be recognised when the acoustic guitar takes it on in the final song, and a brief spoken word prologue typical of fantasy-themed metal leads the listener in to the excellent ‘The Stranger.’ It’s commendable that each song on this album is mixed specifically to flow into the next, making it an extended experience rather than a static precursor to an album, as these brief releases can sometimes be. As the first ‘proper’ song gets going, it’s instantly noticeable how clear and sharp the production job is, something that’s particularly surprising in black metal where bands often sound like they’re playing in an echoing tomb, either for financial reasons or aesthetic choice. While the clear smacking drums and commercially viable guitar sound wouldn’t suit the torturous subterranean grief of a Burzum album, they work perfectly here against the polished keyboards to define a vast landscape, and as such should be more approachable for newcomers.
‘The Stranger’ does indeed stand out as being the most Kerrang!-friendly of these songs, if the abysmal British “metal” publications had any interest in real metal as opposed to manufactured teen angst rubbish, as the black metal influence is all but hidden beneath pretty lead guitars, Metallica-style riffs and shiny keyboards that are more reminiscent of bands such as Him more than anything. While this does compromise its credentials as a metal anthem, it’s still a very enjoyable song that combines its multiple influences seamlessly, and the alternation between growls and clean singing are very well done, particularly as Thomas has a powerful masculine voice as opposed to one of those piercing emo-type things (this review seems to be tending increasingly towards targets of my hatred, I’ll try to reign it in). The guitar sections are cool, including the solo, but it’s a shame that the riffs are necessarily dull in comparison. Perhaps wary of falling into a commercial metal trap, the remainder of the E.P. seeks to establish its metal credentials. ‘Fallen into Oblivion’ takes some obvious hints from Children of Bodom in its foregrounded, obstructive keyboards, while the medium pace and tremolo-picking leads hark back to melodic death metal, but there’s enough variation in this one to make it equally as impressive as its predecessor. Thomas’ grunts are lower and more gurgly, and it’s a shame his singing is kept so limited, but it’s great to hear the folky section towards the end allowing for some clean acoustic guitar and soft percussion to balance out all the prior heaviness.
A keyboard fade-out links nicely to the introductory track as the E.P. consciously reaches its half-way point, before the finest song ‘Battle of Retaliation’ tears it in two and proves why the band are now considered a black metal act. The battle lyrics are highly audible despite Thomas’ complete reliance on grunts here, and although they offer nothing new whatsoever to a metal scene infested with fantasy geeks, they suit the music to a tee. Dazzling virtuoso displays are forsaken in favour of maintaining solid riffs, even present in the basic guitar and keyboard solos that seem in a hurry to be over and done with, and the song is frequently interrupted in a good way with a hammering effect provided by all the instruments in unison. It’s not as heavy as Emperor, as epic as Summoning or as geeky as Hammerfall, but this is still a fine song in the metal archive. The concluding track also fails to disappoint, improving on the prologue and managing to condense some of the album’s finest elements into remarkably short spaces of time, evident in the introduction of a lead electric guitar over the acoustic for something like thirty seconds at the end, which seemed like a lot longer.
The talented band members, successful grasp of structure and multiple influences make this a highly enjoyable release that promises great things to come from Aeveron, though there’s no news of a forthcoming album as far as I’m aware. The gothic metal influences will most certainly deter black metal traditionalists, and I can’t say I’m overly fond of them, but pleasant fruity keyboards have wormed their way into melodic forms of aggressive heavy metal, and we’ll all have to learn to live with it. The main problem with this release is that it’s hopelessly obscure, even for me, and can only really be obtained today through the band’s own website.
Advantages: Successful combination of metal influences, with a crystal clear production job.
Disadvantages: A little uneven and confused, and almost impossible to come by.
AFI
A Fire Inside EP
Open Wounds in the Palms of My Hands
****
Written on 24.06.07
Berkeley-based goth punks AFI are nowadays better known as the feminine frontmen of the ‘emo’ scene, and the majority of their fans probably have no idea that the angry schoolboys started out making albums that ripped off the Misfits.
This semi-self-titled 1998 E.P. captures the transition perfectly between the band’s early years as hardcore punk rockers, and the more successful Offspring-like direction they would embrace for what remained of the millennium before abandoning punk altogether in favour of mainstream success. Although it is incredibly short, comprised of four songs ranging from forty-six seconds to four minutes in length (two of which are covers), this E.P. sees AFI’s ferocity reach its zenith of intensity, while remaining admirably honest about their influences. Of course, most of all, it makes for a satisfyingly obscure collector’s piece.
The first two songs are probably the best material AFI had recorded up until this point, following a similar style to the previous album ‘Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes’ but excelling those mediocre offerings, while the starkly contrasting covers of the Cure at their most contemplatively atmospheric and the Misfits at their most pointlessly hostile round off this E.P. to a point nearing perfection, leaving the listener craving more material that was just over the horizon in the form of the ‘Black Sails in the Sunset’ album and the start of their real success. It’s easy to accept the only significant drawback of this release being under ten minutes long when viewed in the chronology of the band’s output, which consistently provided an AFI fix every year between 1995 and 2000 in the form of albums and original E.P.s, often twice within a year.
‘A Fire Inside’ stands out from the pile not only for its bold and simplistic cover art and fiery orange spine, but for its abnormal release on the independent record label Adeline, owned by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, as opposed to the band’s more common home at the independent record label Nitro, owned by the Offspring’s Dexter Holland and Greg K. Allegedly, the reason for the E.P.’s existence is AFI helping the Green Day frontman to get his record company off the ground, which explains the comparative lack of new material and decision to play cover songs. Nevertheless, the two songs that open this album betray no signs of lazy or rushed production, and could only have benefited from the increased focus.
1. 3½
2. Over Exposure
3. The Hanging Garden
4. Demonomania
Both the enigmatically titled ‘3½’ and more suggestive ‘Over Exposure’ deal with the common AFI and punk theme of standing apart from society. More specifically, the first is an angry fit of self-loathing, the chorus proclaiming ‘I’m so sick, so sick of myself’, while the more depressive speaker in the second describes and laments the unforgettable horrors of everyday life, finally begging, ‘can someone please take these images from my mind?’ Both songs inherit the recognisable sound of the previous year’s ‘Shut Your Mouth…’ album, but broaden the scope to include heavy metal influences that would never really surface again, and the hardcore that has crept in again more recently in its dissolution through emo.
The first song in particular shockingly opens with a heavy, down-tuned guitar riff playing alone, that reminds mostly of Metallica, a great swan song for original guitarist Mark Stopholese who would be replaced for the next album. Thereafter, Adam Carson’s drums and Davey Havok’s feminine vocals confirm that this is the familiar AFI, only with more testosterone and rage. The lyrics are grisly, narcissistic and depressing, enhanced by Davey’s tortured screams that alternate with his more common shouting-along of the verses, while the chorus features a classic bit of unison punk shouting in AFI’s distinctive pre-pubescent manner, everyone having to yell to be heard over the loud guitars.
After two and a half minutes, the song concedes to end in guitar feedback, offering an outburst of feelings without resolving an awful lot. That’s where ‘Over Exposure’ comes in, immediately veering off into a guitar riff that plays around the stereo before launching into a similar shoutathon to the previous number. After getting a couple of relationship issues off his chest, perhaps based on personal experience, Davey relaxes a little into more of a clean singing voice, just as the instruments noticeably slow down after each verse and chorus before plunging into the next one, the audio equivalent of a racing driver slowing down for the bends.
On the whole this is more intrinsically forgettable than ‘3½’, lacking a memorable riff and based more on lyrics than instrumentation, but together the two pieces form a perfect whole that was perhaps intentional, and clearly presented in the correct order. Many other bands would have simply combined the two in a medium length punk ‘epic’ of four and a half minutes (including the Offspring, as demonstrated on their contemporary album ‘Americana’), but that would have left buyers with only one new song on this release. I’m sure they made the right choice, I just can’t conceive of anyone deciding to listen to ‘Over Exposure’ in solitude when it works so much better as the second track.
The cover of the Cure’s ‘The Hanging Garden’ offers a relaxing centre to this E.P. that stands vastly apart from the rest for its slow pace and dreamy atmosphere. Davey does a passable impression of Robert Smith that’s probably more due to following the original song than deliberately attempting an accent, and it’s great to hear the musicians playing something radically different outside of their comfort zone – Mark filling the air with high and distant guitar melodies tinged with Eastern influence, Adam keeping a steady and prominent tribal drumbeat throughout, and new bassist Hunter Burgan filling in on lead duty in this predominantly clangy song. It’s not a Cure song I was previously familiar with but I expect it sounds much the same as the original, though probably with less melodramatic singing, and it does drag noticeably towards the end, especially in comparison to the previous songs, unlike its successor.
At forty-six seconds, a couple of which are merely standard silence at the end of the disc, some would question the point of including ‘Demonomania’ at all, perhaps even tracing it back to its origin in the Misfits’ ‘Earth A.D./Wolfsblood’ album and questioning the relevance of its very existence. It’s true that ‘The Hanging Garden’ would have made for a nice mellow closer to this E.P., allowing the listener to drift off into meditation and come out of the experience feeling comforted after the emotional torment of the first two songs, but it was never meant to be. What we have instead is a ridiculously short and pointless piece that doesn’t really say anything, but makes an awful lot of noise about it and ingrains itself into the listener’s head regardless, in the tradition of all the classic Misfits songs.
The ‘Earth A.D.’ album is a fitting source of inspiration, itself noticeably more hard-edged than the Misfits’ earlier output, which sounds a lot more like typical AFI, complete with ‘woah-oah-oahs.’ This E.P. follows Glenn Danzig’s example in unleashing some fury without fears of alienating anyone, and ‘Demonomania,’ while primitive and unremarkable in comparison to the output of either band, is at least fittingly brief and to the point, whatever that point may be (Davey sings that his father was a wolf, and doesn’t say much else). It’s jarring after the third track, and it’s so silly and brief that it’s possible that the band even included as an affectionate joke, rather than be the fiftieth punk band to release a cover of one of the more successful Misfits songs. It sounds pretty much identical to the original, the difference again being in the vocals despite the imitation of Danzig, and the production is a little neater than it was in 1983. It ends the E.P. on a fast and energetic note, opting to replace emotional baggage with unadulterated punk rock enjoyment, and as you can see, takes a lot longer to read or write about than to actually listen to.
‘A Fire Inside’ is the common extension of AFI, although whether this was originally true or not isn’t really of consequence. The striking flame letters and definitive title are not proclaiming this release to be the most pure and authentic AFI expression, as the band’s continuing evolution with every couple of albums, particularly at this point, would make such a guarantee impossible. Rather, this is a short release with a couple of fantastic ideas, rounded off with some nicely obscure choices of influential cover songs that integrate perfectly into the band’s sound. The interior artwork is rather nice, featuring flames behind the lyrics and similar Medieval wood carving motifs to the previous album, but this is essentially a very basic set, and one that is more often than not often over-priced.
Along with the later ‘All Hallows E.P.,’ an even better collection of four completely original AFI songs produced between albums in the band’s most productive and creative period, this is an essential stepping stone between the major albums, and something that shouldn’t be ignored in the way that the ‘Black Sails E.P.’ and ‘Days of the Phoenix E.P.’ can be avoided by all but the most die-hard collectors for containing material from the longer albums. ‘3½’/‘Over Exposure’ deserves the attention of an AFI best-of collection more than anything released in their earlier, more derivative years, and the ever-fading presence of this release is doubtless a regrettable consequence of its small-fry label, which only adds to the price.
Half essential and half frivolous enjoyment, ‘A Fire Inside E.P.’ should be the first port of call for newer fans exploring backwards through the catalogue past ‘Black Sails in the Sunset.’
Advantages: Two excellent original songs, and good choice of cover songs.
Disadvantages: Nine and a half minutes long.
AFI
All Hallow's E.P.
Halloween Themes
****
Written on 31.10.07 [Nice of me to organise my own Halloween special]
Before they became a mainstream/sell-out rock band (delete as appropriate), Californian goth-punks AFI were the most consistent and prolific staple of Nitro Records, a punk label owned by the Offspring’s Dexter Holland and Greg K. Released in time for Halloween 1999, the ‘All Hallow’s E.P.’ contains three completely original songs and one highly appropriate Misfits cover, all of which stand up equally against the material of the lengthier albums surrounding this release, namely 1999’s ‘Black Sails in the Sunset’ and 2000’s ‘The Art of Drowning.’ Stylistically, thematically and production-wise, this E.P. forms a perfect bridge between those two landmark releases, and for fans it should be considered an essential companion piece (and thankfully, a cheap one too).
It’s not clear whether AFI had these songs lying around and wanted to lay them down on CD quickly rather than waiting for the next album (which turned out not to be lacking in high quality material itself), or if a conscious decision was taken to rush out a short release to cash in on the Halloween season, but either way the songs bear no tell-tale signs of being unfinished or otherwise rushed into production. With the obvious exception of the Misfits cover song, each track follows a new direction based on the bass-driven, slightly aggressive sound of ‘Black Sails in the Sunset,’ while incorporating some of the lead guitars that would later characterise ‘The Art of Drowning,’ similarly featuring a mix of Davey Havok’s punk yell and softer singing, though tilted in favour of the former. As a fan of both of those albums, this E.P. is surprisingly satisfying as a middle ground, and along with the earlier and even more distinctive ‘A Fire Inside E.P.’ it should form a part of any dedicated fan’s collection.
1. Fall Children
2. Halloween
3. The Boy Who Destroyed the World
4. Totalimmortal
This thirteen minute E.P. plays out pretty much as would be expected, with a couple of quite glaring and disappointing deviations. The music is fast and highly energetic, the lyrics are intelligent and soppy enough to make goth girls cry happy tears, and the polished production gives everything a clean and inoffensive feel, far removed from the dirty garage punk of the band’s predecessors and influences. This is something that counts against the cover of the Misfits’ ‘Halloween,’ which entirely lacks the spookiness of the original by polishing up the guitars and, unavoidably, substituting Havok’s adolescent yelp in place of Glenn Danzig’s immortal croon, but the cover of this simplistic song is performed adequately and largely inoffensively. AFI’s own material appears far more complex and progressive in comparison, each of the three songs featuring a significant break of style at one point to offer something more reflective despite the relatively short playing time of each, and all three would stand out among the finest songs of even the best AFI album.
Starting from the top, ‘Fall Children’ begins with a sort of quiet invocation before launching into full-blown punk rock with everyone working at full pelt, and Hunter Burgan’s clunking bass leads the rip-roaring verses along as Jade Puget’s guitars rise and fall. This style continues into ‘The Boy Who Destroyed the World,’ as does the tendency for the band to shout backing “woah-oah-oahs” in unison to punctuate each of Havok’s lines, and there’s even an extended “woah-oah-oah-oah-oah-oah” section presumably aimed at live audiences, reminiscent of similar sections tactfully inserted for the same purpose into everything released by Iron Maiden. ‘The Boy Who Destroyed the World’ is, if anything, even better than the first song, introduced by a brief drum roll from Adam Carson (winning the prize for band member with the least adventurous name), and managing to stay fun and upbeat despite its forlorn subject matter that nevertheless avoids spiralling into true despair or anger. The final, shortest song ‘Totalimmortal’ is the best of the lot, and was soon released as a black-and-white music video showing the band hanging around some graves to show how goth they are, with the most creative and memorable guitar and bass lines taking turns to show off. It’s bouncy, meaningful, pleasant and once again sneaks in a tempo change with a bass-driven bit towards the end, though I’ve always found the higher-pitched moments of the chorus to be a little piercing. Still, that’s nothing compared to the truly grating performance of Dexter Holland when the Offspring covered it for the film ‘Me, Myself & Irene.’
There’s a further problem with this album beyond occasional cringe-inducing shrieks, and it comes with the devious and ultimately irritating addition of pointless interludes between the songs, seemingly in an attempt to make the E.P. appear longer than it actually is. ‘Fall Children’ ends with about thirty seconds of what sounds like a typical child’s musical mobile or lullaby and ‘The Boy Who Destroyed the World’ ends with an abrupt thunderclap followed by some rain for a short time, both of which are acceptable and add a little character to the songs, but my main objection comes with the time-wasting “outro” of ‘Halloween,’ which lasts nearly two minutes and is thus even longer than the song itself, which ends around the 1:40 mark. It’s not even creative or fun, sounding simply like someone has opened up a piano to mess around with its innards for a couple of minutes, and there’s no way anyone listening to this E.P. more than once would fail to skip it in frustration. These grievances aside, the ‘All Hallow’s E.P.’ was the last great in-between offering from AFI and their final release of the 90s; one that will still be highly in demand as the band achieves greater and greater success, as the songs still remain unique to this recording.
The big question we have to ask, on this of all days, is how accurately does the E.P. reflect the spirit of Halloween? The answer is, not a great deal: like all AFI of this era, the gothic sentiment is there, but it’s all wrapped up in upbeat guitars and energetic, boyish yelling rather than anything truly “horror”-inspired like the earlier work of the Misfits, and this extends to the cover art. Alan Forbes was AFI’s regular artist during their tenure with Nitro (he also illustrated the Offspring’s ‘Conspiracy of One’ around the same time), and the cover art of this E.P. is slightly inferior to his work on the surrounding albums. There are a few Halloween staples, namely a scarecrow, pumpkins (on the back cover) and a sort of cat, but the whole thing is a little too cartoonish. The main problem comes in the chirpy colour scheme, which doesn’t even include a properly darkened sky, and despite the many years I’ve owned this release, I’ve never been able to look at that yellow band logo without thinking of bananas.
And what’s so scary about bananas?
Advantages: Three high quality, totally unique songs (and one quite good Misfits cover).
Disadvantages: Irritating interludes.
Against Me!
New Wave
Jackal in Heat
****
Written on 03.11.07
This summer’s major label debut from Florida’s ‘Against Me!’ is one of the best mainstream rock albums I’ve heard in many years, and despite finally severing all ties to frontman Tom Gabel’s acoustic origins it retains enough raw force and punk aggression to satisfy old fans, while using catchy hooks to reel in those old favourites of mine, the general public.
If we’re supposed to take the lyrics of the title track seriously, Gabel intends this album to represent the crest of a new wave in the music industry, hopefully producing something new and original despite the inevitable copy-cat acts that will follow in its wake. While this album doesn’t exactly possess the influential power of producer Butch Vig’s more recognised hits such as Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ and the Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘Siamese Dream,’ its slick consistency (edited down to only ten songs and thirty-three minutes) was at least enough to inspire Australia’s Ben Lee to record an acoustic cover version of the whole thing just for fun, and stick it up on his website at http://www.ben-lee.com/blog.htm (Bear in mind that he is Australian, and his over-zealous enthusiasm should not be considered representative of the album’s effect on normal people).
This isn’t a great album, but it’s a very good one. There’s a nice mix of styles from the shamelessly chart-oriented ‘Thrash Unreal’ to the angry tracks later in the album, and even some near-psychedelia in the finale seemingly inspired by the Doors. Other influences from classic punk rock to modern rock abound, thankfully bypassing indie, and there are even some apparent, perhaps unintentional nods to bizarre sources such as 80s gay dance-pop act Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Gabel’s vocals keep the whole thing grounded in traditional gruff rock and roll, while his guitars and those of James Bowman vary from background filler in the verses to some enjoyable solo spots indebted to classic punk in my favourite tracks. Thanks to the polished production, Andrew Seward’s bass can be heard plodding along, though never really doing anything of interest, while the few opportunities drummer Warren Oakes is granted outside of keeping up a medium tempo never go too far into virtuoso territory to alienate casual listeners. Aside from a brief and uninspiring duet with Tegan Quin in track six, there’s very little studio trickery involved in the way of sound effects or samples to intrude on the basic purity of the instruments, though Butch Vig’s famous overdubs are still applied in full force to add volume to some of the harder riffs. Against Me! aim to take rock music into the future by looking back to the past.
1. New Wave
2. Up the Cuts
3. Thrash Unreal
4. White People for Peace
5. Stop!
6. Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart
7. Piss and Vinegar
8. Americans Abroad
9. Animal
10. The Ocean
With a combined playing time of just over half an hour, it’s clear that none of these songs will plunge into elaborate, sustained outbursts of Onanistic progressive rock, and for the most part the editing is just right, the average length being just over three minutes (it doesn’t take a Hawking to figure that one out). Thus we have predictable, repetitive, distinctly average opener ‘New Wave’ setting up the general concepts of the album – gruff but friendly masculine vocals, memorable choruses and occasional punk outbursts of guitar solo – before sinking to ever more interesting depths. ‘Up the Cuts’ is a big improvement and one of my favourites on the album for its increased energy, evident in Gabel having to yell over the volume of his guitar (thankfully without reverting to hardcore shouting that would really spoil things) and featuring a greater focus on instrumentation at no cost to the overall enjoyment. Other songs following this successful, albeit highly seventies-derivative style are the album’s first single ‘White People for Peace,’ which even has a classic-sounding and cutely flawed punk chorus in which Gabel’s anarchistic lyrics are a little too detailed to actually fit the melody (“protest songs / inresponsetomilitaryoppression”), and my favourite ‘Piss and Vinegar’ which, as can probably be deduced from the title, is a full-blooded celebration of punk. The lyrics are typically anti-establishment, attempting to prove that these musicians are still true to themselves as many such bands feel compelled to sing about when promoted to a corporate label, and the whole thing is driven by the best and most prominent guitars of the album. Even the slightly annoying addition of the record’s only hardcore scream is negated by a pleasant “woah-oah-oah” section shortly afterwards, keeping the punk rock yin-yang intact, while the more mediocre later song ‘Americans Abroad’ ends with an amusing “f*** off,” seemingly out of nowhere.
That’s not to say that the remainder of the album is less satisfying, though its tendency to focus on catchier, slower songs is only really successful when going the full way and stripping down any pretensions to still being rock. The oddly titled ‘Thrash Unreal’ is the unapologetic single (actually the second to be released, but the highest charting by far), its use of a capella vocals and cheesy “ba-ba-ba-da-da” chorus not impressing me much (entirely lacking the beauty of a “woah-oah-oah” chorus. I require medical attention), but the worst offender is the shortest song ‘Stop!’, which not only seems too short to be of any value, but sounds an awful lot like Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘Relax.’ Which I guess is okay if you’re into that kind of thing, but it’s not exactly what you’d hope for when buying a rock album with a tiger’s snarling face on the front promising some real aggro, is it? This animal itself seemingly comes into play with the slower, country-tinged number simply titled ‘Animal,’ which ends up a little dull but makes for an interesting departure nonetheless, while we sail around full circle and return to the theme of the ocean with the final song, imaginatively titled ‘The Ocean.’ This is a nice piece of The Doors-style psychedelia, utilising some interesting guitar distortion in-between the almost spoken word lyrics that blend the metaphor of an ocean inside oneself with simpler, more literal observations about dolphins swimming and stuff. It’s good.
Against Me! is a contemporary rock band on the rise, and one I’d certainly be interested in checking out further. Their committed approach to making modern rock that doesn’t pander to current trends is refreshing, particularly as I hate pretty much all the current trends and clearly always will (I am something of a world-despising curmudgeon, as you may have observed over the course of my reviews), and it offers enough interesting metaphors and thematic trickery to please pretentious listeners like myself, namely in its repetition of the ocean theme, without indulging in the recent resurgence of prog indulgence. The wave the band is riding is still fairly small, but gaining in strength, and in a year or two I can easily visualise their next album crashing onto the shores and obliterating coastal fishing villages as the band takes control of the mainstream (‘stream,’ do you see?) Perhaps I should leave the metaphors to the songwriters.
Advantages: Highly energised, tightly packed slab of contemporary rock, with no indie influence in sight.
Disadvantages: Relies on older styles as much as it forsakes the modern.
Agalloch
Of Stone, Wind and Pillor
****
Written on 19.07.07
One of the most interesting American metal bands of this decade, Agalloch combines elements of European neofolk, doom and depressive black metal and fuses them with the burgeoning American post-metal sound of bands such as Isis. All this genre name-dropping may be a bit confusing and off-putting, but it combines to give Agalloch a refreshingly unique and inimitable sound that still has solid foundations in bleak transatlantic music.
Each of the band’s major releases has been wide enough apart to properly demonstrate its transition, and focus on quality over quantity. To satiate fans craving for more from the increasingly acclaimed Portland group, Agalloch have mercifully released several intermittent E.P.s between the major releases, of which 2001’s ‘Of Stone, Wind and Pillor’ is the most significant and eagerly anticipated. Released over a year before the second album ‘The Mantle,’ this five song E.P. provides a greater insight into the band’s evolution with songs from as early as the 1997 demo, a few later songs that can essentially be seen as B-sides to the full-length ‘Pale Folklore,’ and a brand new song to demonstrate Agalloch’s new softer sound, which balances their influences more evenly than the black metal-oriented debut and is also highlighted by the interesting choice of an English neofolk cover song of Sol Invictus.
1. Of Stone, Wind and Pillor
2. Foliorum Viridium
3. Haunting Birds
4. Kneel to the Cross
5. A Poem By Yeats
The album cover, band photos and song titles give a clear indication that this is to an extent woodland-based music, and indeed that is the mental image conjured by the sweeping orchestration, folk guitars and crackling fire effects. It’s a less threatening wilderness than that conjured by the earlier ‘Pale Folklore’ and the ambient black metal bands it drew its inspiration from, particularly Ulver’s first album ‘Bergtatt,’ but it’s still a far cry from a cheerful hand-clapping rendition of Kum Ba Ya. The mood of the dual acoustic song ‘Haunting Birds’ is one of deep contemplation, and the fire that creeps in at the end would be one absently stared into by all present as they contemplate their lives, rather than toast marshmallows. This song is a perfect showcase of the band’s unplugged side to contrast with the heavy presence of keyboard and distortion elsewhere, with crashing drums heard far away as a menacing but distant threat in a technique pretty much lifted from Ulver’s ‘Een Stemme Locker’ and later re-used on the final song of ‘The Mantle.’
The other instrumental is an older song, which is unsurprising considering its similarity to the beautiful ‘The Misshapen Steed’ from Agalloch’s debut. ‘Foliorum Viridium’ evokes a similar atmosphere to its acoustic neighbour, but this time in full daylight in a panoramic sweep of forest landscapes depicted by a soft keyboard lead over soaring violins and a lead cello section. It’s understated enough to avoid approaching the realm of film soundtrack, and is simply a peaceful ambient piece that opts to leave all thoughts of metal behind it, although it pales in comparison to similar songs on more substantial releases. The final song, ‘A Poem By Yeats,’ aims to be more majestic with a prominent rising violin repeated over John Haughm’s spoken word rendition of Yeats’ ‘The Sorrow of Love,’ and this time thoughts of a film score aren’t so far away. Yeats’ ‘lyrics’ can hardly be heard as Haughm chants them in the first section before taking a more standard monotone, but it still works excellently and at no points feels like a cheap, gimmicky B-side tagged on to increase the track length, though the final four minutes of complete silence are an irritating addition. The violin ‘swells’ are hardly original, but can’t help but move me, reminding me of the final song from My Dying Bride’s ‘Like Gods of the Sun.’
With the shorter and perhaps more forgettable pieces dealt with, the two main pillars of ‘Of Stone, Wind and Pillor’ are the excellent title track and the cover of Sol Invictus’ neofolk song ‘Kneel to the Cross.’ The first is a fair preview of the sound to come on ‘The Mantle,’ based on alternating acoustic and electric guitars at a fairly slow but steady pace, with a great balance between being gloomy and vicious, and melodic and catchy. After the acoustic guitar introduces the song and sets the tone, the metal comes in for the only real time on this release, and again still reminds me mostly of Ulver at this point in the band’s development. Haughm screeches his lyrics in a mostly indecipherable black metal growl (apart from a shockingly vulgar final pronouncement), and ties in excellently to the restless and constantly changing melodic lead guitar and riffs. Those unaccustomed to growling vocals would most likely approach this song with a degree of confusion, as the inhuman screams contrast starkly with the generally pleasant-sounding instruments, and in this case I tend to agree that clean singing vocals would have been more appropriate, even if Haughm’s singing voice (as demonstrated on ‘Kneel to the Cross’) takes an equal amount of getting used to. The second half of this ever-changing song is where the aforementioned catchiness comes in, with a gothic-sounding guitar and drum rhythm reminiscent of Katatonia’s influential ‘Brave Murder Day’ album providing a bouncing point for some great, slow guitar solos that lead the song out.
As I’ve never heard the original version of ‘Kneel to the Cross’ I’m unable to make a comparison, though it’s certainly intrigued me about Sol Invictus and that whole school of home-grown neofolk, but this was an excellent and unusual choice of cover song. I could do without the opening, in which Haughm repeats the same line over and over in his nasal clean voice over a backdrop of keyboard and organ melodies, and if this wasn’t a cover I’d once again link it right back to Ulver, this time their experimental and rather dodgy ‘Themes From William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’ release. A sudden pause makes way for much better things, and the more familiar acoustic guitar and drums return, the latter resonating nicely in what proves to be easily the most upbeat sounding cut of the E.P. The electric guitar can still be heard filling in the spaces in the background along with the reliable but ultimately unremarkable bass, but this is really a demonstration of the band’s folk roots to follow on from ‘Haunting Birds.’ It’s probably the most enjoyable part of the E.P. For being so different, but of equal value to the first and third tracks. It’s also the only song that can be easily found elsewhere, on a later compilation of Sol Invictus cover material.
‘Of Stone, Wind and Pillor’ is primarily a piece of fan merchandise, generously provided to ease the wait for Agalloch’s second full-length album and providing some nice rarities and effective B-side instrumentals to go with it. At twenty-five minutes (excluding the pointless pause at the end of the final song), there’s not really enough room to explore the intricacies of Agalloch’s sound, especially as two of their currently three albums are dominated by multi-part epic compositions, and also because the band’s sound continues to change substantially every few years. Nevertheless, anyone who enjoys ‘The Mantle’ or even ‘Pale Folklore’ or perhaps the more recent ‘Ashes Against the Grain’ should place this high on their list of releases to check out, as well as the albums I can’t help but repeatedly cite as a direct influence.
‘Foliorum Viridium’ is taken from Agalloch’s first demo, which I would guess is extremely hard to come by and only worthwhile for the most hardcore fan of their early sound, and as mentioned earlier the Sol Invictus cover was later added to a compilation. There’s still enough enjoyable unique material here to keep this bizarrely titled release slipping into oblivion for many years to come, especially if Agalloch’s music continues to improve and achieve even greater acclaim. Of course, another release may take a few more years yet.
Advantages: An interesting and highly atmospheric selection of songs displaying different sides of Agalloch.
Disadvantages: With only five songs, the weaker ones are more of a problem.
Agalloch
Tomorrow Will Never Come
Mad Chicken
**
Written on 04.11.07
Portland’s Agalloch are one of the most interesting and creative metal bands remaining in America, despite (or perhaps due to) their primary influences far to the East... or is it West from over there? While their impressive, epic debut ‘Pale Folklore’ could have fooled Norwegian black metal bands into thinking it sprung from their nation’s own sonic loins, its long-awaited successor ‘The Mantle’ saw the band reach new heights of creativity, combining the bleak atmosphere and often harsh sound of their debut with delicate and equally skilled acoustic passages, still essentially continuing where Ulver left off but incorporating diverse influences from more local nature, cinema and art to produce a truly magnificent album. Agalloch toured extensively in the following years before updating their sound once again to the post-metal influenced ‘Ashes Against the Grain,’ constantly in motion but never skipping a beat.
So why is this release so rubbish?
The primary reason is that this limited edition, ultra-collectable E.P. was never intended for actual listening, distributed at shows and through personal contact as a range of only five hundred hand-signed vinyl records; the band could have recorded anything onto its short playing time and it still would have been snapped up by a loyal and ever-increasing fan base. As it happens, the material is all new and exclusive... in a way. Unlike the previous E.P. ‘Of Stone, Wind and Pillor,’ originally useful as a preview of the band’s new direction with ‘The Mantle’ and now still essential as that bridge between the early albums, ‘Tomorrow Will Never Come’ was always strictly a release aimed purely at hardcore collectors. Which is fortunate, as no one else would realistically be able to come by it, unless they enjoyed spending frivolously on eBay.
The two songs included here are unique to this E.P., though opening instrumental ‘The Death of Man (Version III)’ is, as the title suggests, a mere remix; and not a particularly impressive one at that. The acoustic melody and booming, echoed percussion will be disappointingly familiar to anyone familiar with ‘The Mantle,’ and far from being a logical or satisfying continuation of that album’s recurring musical theme, this is simply an exact reproduction of that album’s introductory track, slightly lengthened by adding a spacey intro and jazzed up with some discordant background effects, greater use of electric guitar fuzz, and bell chimes that add the distinct flavour of a Western to a song I originally envisioned taking place in the same dead and bitterly frozen forest that most of Agalloch’s music transports me to. It’s still a nice song, but as an entire side of vinyl it feels rather pointless, while its very nature as a near-identical replica of something even the most casual Agalloch fan already owns takes it into further realms of non-necessity.
So there we have it, one side over and done with, and the only real charm of this E.P. is whatever remains on the reverse. Another pleasant acoustic song played around the band’s dwindling campfire, ‘Tomorrow Will Never Come’ is nice enough, but hardly provides enough reason to justify the effort of tracking this thing down. The guitar strumming is excellent as expected, the marvellously human flaws making it even more flawless, and once again takes the listener on a musical journey from a minute-long jangly introduction through the main section, composed against sound clips from a documentary on schizophrenia. As the voices become more animated and distressed the guitar responds accordingly, before finally returning to a peaceable melody after everything cools off. There are some distinctly weird touches added to this song that serve to make it more disturbing and also more inviting to repeated listens, as whatever form of keyboard or synthesiser is providing the background effects switches between a distracting buzzing sound, like a bee or UFO, and a more pleasant and nautical accordion effect. Overall, this song is nice as an experiment into relationships between an evolving drama and its musical accompaniment (or to use the more general term, a soundtrack), but doesn’t represent a lost Agalloch classic so much as something guitarist Don Anderson could have cobbled together on a rainy day, when his parents forbade him from journeying into the woods to jam with his friends. There are many better examples of his talents in pretty much everything else the band has released, apart from this E.P.’s even less prestigious successor, ‘The Grey.’ You should definitely check out Agalloch, but not here, not like this.
Advantages: Another nice acoustic song from Don Anderson.
Disadvantages: A pointless remix, and a pointlessly obscure release in general.
Agathodaimon
Blacken the Angel
***
Written on 06.11.07
Germany’s Agathodaimon (named after an ancient alchemist) followed loyally in the footsteps of black metal bands such as England’s Cradle of Filth and Norway’s Dimmu Borgir by infusing their dark music with increasingly prominent symphonic elements, eventually abandoning black metal altogether and heading into the bland pastures of generic gothic garbage. The one part of the process they failed to mimic was the bit where they sign the large record contract and receive loads of money, cars, undefiled virgins and things, but everyone makes mistakes.
‘Blacken the Angel’ is the band’s first full-length album following a number of demos and shorter releases, and it will certainly appeal to fans of those aforementioned bands as well as fans of melodic- or symphonic-based extreme metal in general, though it’s destined to be something of a mediocre backburner whichever way it’s taken. It’s not a bad album, but in maintaining a tempo that ranges from slow to medium with only short and ultimately disappointing bursts of speed, and deviating little from its selection of repetitive guitar riffs, boring backing drums and polished keyboard melodies, it’s more suited as background or atmospheric music than something you could put on when craving some dirty black metal enjoyment (which we all need every once in a while). At one hour and one minute in length it tends to drag on, particularly in the longer songs (the longest of which is an unreasonable and unexciting fifteen minutes), but assuming you’re in the required peaceful, pensive, slightly sombre and easily distracted mood, it works nicely as a soundtrack. Luckily for me, that’s my emotional state about ninety-five percent of the time (the other five percent is when something exciting happens in ‘Count Duckula’).
A reviewer on another website bizarrely described this as an album of ‘ballads,’ which clearly brings his sanity into question, though I can see what he was getting at (he’s still mad though). Right from the opening song, many offerings of this album sound like what would typically be considered the compulsory ‘slowie’ from a Cradle of Filth album, but placed alongside each other in this manner they do lose a lot of their inherent impact and charm. The album compensates somewhat by balancing this out with roughly half of the songs taking on a more sinister and heavier edge, though ultimately these tend to be the weaker pieces, lacking any real punch through their lethargic and cleanly processed delivery and relying too much on the repetition of unimaginative guitar riffs and even worse drums. The first few tracks maintain this balance fairly nicely, but as the album draws to a close it becomes increasingly evident that the band has started recycling ideas, sometimes entire songs, in their goal of surpassing the hour mark.
1. Tristetea Vehementa
2. Banner of Blasphemy
3. Near Dark
4. Ill of an Imaginary Guilt
5. Die Nacht des Unwesens
6. Contemplation Song
7. Sfintit Cu Roua Suferintii
8. Stingher / Alone
9. After Dark
10. Ribbons / Requiem
Due to the early involvement of Vlad Dracul (perhaps not his real name?) before he was deported back to Romania, some of the lyrics are in his native tongue, while others reflect the band’s German origins, though the majority are in English and concern the usual themes of sadness, death, forlorn lovers and angel desecration. Vlad’s vocals are carried out in the typical black metal growl, never becoming too expressive to break the mood and even overlapping in duets with himself, and later a female guest singer to take this into the slightly more pompous realms of a musical tragedy. The guitars mostly recycle fairly generic riffs, but some songs such as the lengthy ‘Near Dark’ and ‘Stingher / Alone’ feature some nice leads and harmonies, even if there’s never anything too creative. Vampallens’ keyboards are perhaps the real highlight, draped over the whole thing to add a certain degree of grandeur and melody while also working to enhance the more deliberately raw sections when notably absent, such as in the song ‘Sfintit Cu Roua Suferintii’ which strives to attain the primitive sound of early, catchy black metal, without really succeeding.
The two opposing styles of slow-pleasant and slow-heavy mentioned earlier become fairly dull and routine before too long, making the early examples of their style the more interesting. Opener ‘Tristetea Vehementa’ is one of the most enjoyable songs of the album, never seeming too long despite lasting eight minutes especially when compared to the overlong track three, with a chorus that manages to stay memorable and some nice variations on tremolo-picking riffs and keyboard varnish. While the celebrated ‘Near Dark’ accomplishes similar goals it takes far too long to do so, the seemingly endless, similar-sounding verses being a hefty price to pay for some nice guitars towards the end, and it’s only really at the very end of the album with ‘Ribbons / Requiem’ that we’re given a melodic song of comparable worth, though of course by then it’s far too late. It may even take several minutes for you to realise the album has long since finished as it proceeds to just sort of fade out when it’s had enough.
The darker edge is held up by the songs ‘Ill of an Imaginary Guilt,’ ‘Die Nacht des Unwesens’ and ‘After Dark,’ all continuing the sound established in ‘Banner of Blasphemy’ of dull, mechanical-sounding chugging riffs and militaristic drums. Each one tries to set itself apart through some jarring gimmick or style shift, from track two’s spoken word to the squealing fret-pinching that makes ‘Ill of an Imaginary Guilt’ the worst song on the album for trying to be a Machine Head B-side, while both ‘Die Nacht...’, ‘Stingher / Alone’ and ‘After Dark’ manage to pull off more energetic, faster sections with some degree of skill before slipping back into the tedious plod of the rest of the album, the last song in particular managing to set itself apart the least, though this could have something to do with its undesirable position right near the end. There’s a pleasant but rather insubstantial interlude in the form of the sixth track, performed by Vampallens’ classically-tinged keys against Matthias Rodig’s slowest drums yet, which could be substituted in place of the album if you fancied a two minute edit without all the terrifying shouting.
Agathodaimon’s debut is far from a compulsory purchase, but it’s enjoyable enough if you’re familiar with the genre and can successfully relax to the strains of a cacophony of instruments and screeched vocals as I tend to, and it’s almost certainly better than the ‘gothic metal’ they allegedly moved into hereafter, which brings to mind some truly horrible bands. The atmosphere is consistent throughout, which is both an advantage and a hindrance depending on what you expect to gain from this listening experience, meaning that even the long ‘Near Dark’ could become a firm favourite. Personally, I tend to prefer the more creative moments that are few and far between, most evident in the opening and closing songs and the unusual ‘Stingher / Alone,’ which has some of the most mournful, melancholy lyrics but bizarrely ends up being one of the more frantic and upbeat of the disc.
Advantages: Nice background music, if you're partial to a bit of the old melodic symphonic extreme metal.
Disadvantages: Songs don't stand strong on their own, and the general musicianship is rather bland and dull.
Age of Silence
***
Written on 10.11.07
At first glance – if you’re a black metal fan, that is – this eccentric band appears to be some form of supergroup, comprising members from notable bands such as Carpathian Forest, Borknagar and even a survivor of early Mayhem. Closer examination reveals that Age of Silence, for all its oddness, is primarily a side project of Norway’s lighter prog metal band Winds, and seemingly a means for its members to let off steam recording experimental music without fear of destroying their already rather tenuous careers.
The needlessly over-titled ‘Complications: Trilogy of Intricacy’ narrates the story of a supermarket being opened in Hell, with Lars Nedland’s pun-filled lyrics intended as a satire of the shopping experience in general. It’s an interesting and rather funny idea, and as a limited concept perfectly suits a shorter release such as this, rather than a more substantial album where it would doubtless become irritating and repetitive towards the end. Oddly, and rather disappointingly, the general feel is that this is Nedland’s own pet project, performed with assistance from his backing band Winds, as his multi-layered vocal duets with himself, and variety of restlessly shifting experimental vocal melodies in the style of seventies progressive rock, really do overpower the supporting riffs of Kobbergard and Extant, and the surprisingly tame drums of Hellhammer. The production job is fairly sleek and keeps the sound much more in the vein of progressive metal and rock than the dingy depths of black metal, meaning that even the rare occasions that the guitars scratch away at a dirtier riff, or Hellhammer unleashes the ticking double bass pedals, there’s a distinct lack of heaviness or aggression as the whole thing stays rooted in the whimsical fable.
Each member of the gathered musical throng is experienced at the sort of experimental attitude a release such as this requires, so it’s disappointing to hear most of them fall compliantly in line to provide backing riffs and, in the case of Andy Winter’s keyboards, mere atmosphere. Winter’s contributions increase slightly with each song, culminating in a reasonable yet still stifled solo spot of sorts paired up with the guitars in the finale, but I still felt a little let down after hearing his impressive work in Paul Kuhr’s Subterranean Masquerade, a similar but far more entertaining and inventive prog metal side project that even manages to live up musically to its brilliant name. Despite each song here boasting a central instrumental section, these mostly see the established riffs continue for several bars before Nedland comes back in with ever more ludicrous manners of singing.
1. The Idea of Independence and the Reason Why it’s Austere
2. Mr. M, Man of Muzak
3. Vouchers, Coupons and the End of a Shopping Session
Lars Nedland’s infernal story moves from a generalised scene-setting introduction in the first song to an account of the shopping experience in the second, and finally its aftermath in the third; so not so much a trilogy as a story that happens to be divided into three uneven tracks. The lyrics are entertaining for the most part, even if the forced satire and obvious puns come off as a little silly and even a little patronising in their repetition, just in case the reader/listener didn’t “get” first time around that the focus on barbecue special offers was because, like, this is Hell, where there’s fire and stuff aplenty. Although he forsakes the more customary black metal screech for entirely clean singing, Nedland’s lyrics are still occasionally indecipherable due to the odd styles in which he chooses to sing them, reminding me of similar tomfoolery from the vocalists of Gentle Giant and Van der Graaf Generator to name a couple. There’s some nice layering afoot, meaning the singer gets to replace what would traditionally be a lead guitar behind some of the verses with a simple copy of himself singing “ahh” a few times, and although there’s a distinct feeling that most of his deviancy is eccentric purely for the sake of it, it adds a nice sense of character to this E.P.
There’s a general tendency of improvement as the songs go on, all of the instruments being permitted slightly more freedom of expression in each consecutive piece, but never really succeeding in evoking the hellish atmosphere that the listener would perhaps expect. As mentioned earlier, Andy Winter is unleashed to some extent in the final song, though the decisions he makes are a little questionable to say the least: he opts to replicate a sound I can only describe as that of a 1950s B-movie UFO in the outro, and as for his chirpy leads in tandem with the guitars earlier on, he seems to unintentionally evoke the very “muzak” being condemned by the lyrics (if this is intentional, then it’s all the better for it, but it still sounds fairly rubbish). The oddest thing about this highly avant-garde and experimental release is how stilted, repetitive and dull it sounds on the whole, boasting little musical complexity or innovation and relying solely on a bloke singing out of time into a microphone about some people going shopping and burning to death, delivered in a variety of high-pitched voices.
This band released a full-length album prior to this that I would expect (and certainly hope) to be of more worth, and of course their more prominent work in Winds is quite enjoyable, if a bit bland. If you came here looking for some avant-garde black metal – and hell, who doesn’t need some of that in their lives? – there are other acts I would recommend instead, none of which allow a well thought-out, but ultimately rather daft plot to overtake the music in this way.
Advantages: An interesting concept performed by veterans of the business.
Disadvantages: No one gets to strut their stuff apart from the vocalist, who harks back to the seventies.
Agent Orange
Living in Darkness
****
Written on 11.11.07
The debut album from California’s Agent Orange influenced a whole generation (and some more) of local punk rockers, who adapted the angry disillusion of their seventies forebears into something more appropriate for Generation X. Widening its own influences to absorb contemporary heavy metal and surf music into its punk base, ‘Living in Darkness’ is a short, sharp recording that proved to be the band’s best, or at least most recognised.
Reviews of this album tend to associate it with skateboarding, the same way some Pink Floyd fans insist the music be used as a soundtrack to smoking the ol’ crazy gravy granules, but having never been a sk8ur (or however it’s spelled), controversially opting for the more sensible transport of feet and/or bicycle in my teen years, I can confirm that the album still has the ability to entertain even if you’re not popping a kickflip while you’re listening to it, or whatever. I’m so in touch. Fortunately, the songs aren’t actually about skating or anything so trivial, but follow the predictable punk standards of a general depression and dissatisfaction with society, combined with a more specific and personal account of loneliness and the problems faced in entering adulthood. It’s all good and appropriate stuff, and only really overflows into anger on a couple of the more impressive and louder offerings.
The album was expanded when re-released on CD in 1992 to include earlier demos of some songs, more instrumental covers and an interview, but the original arrangement of eight tracks clocks in just short of twenty minutes.
1. Too Young to Die
2. Everything Turns Grey
3. Miserlou
4. The Last Goodbye
5. No Such Thing
6. A Cry for Help in a World Gone Mad
7. Bloodstains
8. Living in Darkness
As a fairly low budget recording from 1981, this album is a testament to the punk ethic, with most of the instruments sounding a little wrong in the mix, particularly the too-prominent vocals and scratching guitar. This lack of a polished finish, which would otherwise spoil the more commercially-oriented albums of the bands they inspired in the 90s when punk became fashionable again, albeit in the way The Offspring and Green Day opted to play it, suits the album very well, and dates in a very satisfying way. Without trying to be overly aggressive or confrontational, the music is permitted to be catchy and to move through a variety of different moods, aided by the obvious influences. More straightforward, catchy, Ramones-style punk is replicated in ‘Too Young to Die,’ ‘No Such Thing’ and ‘A Cry for Help in a World Gone Mad,’ all featuring nice choruses with effective unison yells from all, speedy and slightly sinister guitar riffs, Scott Miller’s happily bashing drums and a nice pulsing bass from James Levesque. ‘No Such Thing’ is the best of these, with more creative dominant melodies and some great lead guitar work from Mike Palm, found even more prominently in some of the other tracks where he is content to rip off Judas Priest.
It’s not really theft so much as unavoidable influence, but a few of the songs bear a noticeable similarity to the guitar sound popularised by Priest’s albums of the late seventies. The excellent ‘Everything Turns Grey’ opens very much like the other band’s classic ‘Victim of Changes’ before evolving into a riff that wouldn’t sound out of place on the ‘Stained Class’ album, but the success of the rest of the song is really down to the band’s own talents. As a fan of this type of metal I really enjoy its imprint on this album, though the later ‘The Last Goodbye’ is essentially an inferior version of the same thing, made acceptable by another catchy main riff and a return of pleasant backing vocals in the chorus. ‘Living in Darkness’ is the only other song to drag on by the end, as most are too energetic and too short to do so, and is the most diverse of the album, conveying depression about as well as can be expected from a punk song. Levesque’s bass has a chance to shine in the introduction, quite fitting as he is the talented band member who wrote the song (along with ‘Everything Turns Grey’), but the hand-clap-style percussion half-way through is something I could live without.
The other prominent tracks are also the most jarring, but in a good way. ‘Miserlou’ is a pretty standard cover of the surf instrumental by Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, which is effective in replacing vocals with a twiddly guitar solo in this bass-led effort, and I can’t help visualising a sixties car speeding illegally over a freeway for its short duration. The most famous song is the legendary (in Southern Californian punk circles at least) ‘Bloodstains,’ possessing a powerful and quite evil riff, some really raw shouted vocals and another surf-inspired solo. It’s a great, stand-out bit of aggression in an otherwise more reflective album, and while it has little to impress technically, its attitude and power were integral in forming the sound of 80s punk, whether you consider that to be a good or bad thing. The Offspring later covered it for some soundtrack or other, and added a bit of gratuitous swearing.
‘Living in Darkness’ doesn’t sound like a classic album unless you place it in its proper historical context. Many bands that followed would produce more entertaining, creative and longer albums (the latter being a fairly easy feat), but the myriad influences make this one of my favourites, particularly the debts it owes to Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing of Judas Priest. ‘Bloodstains’ would likely be the song chosen if the Library of Congress compiled a history of punk deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant,” but it’s not necessarily the album’s peak.
Advantages: Definitive Southern Californian punk rock with some great metal influence.
Disadvantages: Far too short, and some songs lack originality.
Agent Steel
Alienigma
Trust No One
***
Written on 12.11.07
This year’s album from old-timers Agent Steel sees the L.A. band finally shake off its archaic thrash and speed metal origins and get with it, granddad; ‘it’ being the generic, monotonous style of down-tuned post-thrash that all American bands have been getting away with since Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax decided to slow down at the start of the Nineties. This is a particularly disappointing move for Agent Steel in light of the two previous albums released sporadically since their reform, which brilliantly re-captured and even improved upon the classic speed metal sound they helped pioneer in the mid-Eighties, and despite a large audience still existing for classic metal, admittedly far away in Europe, the band obviously decided it would be a good idea to try to keep up with current trends. Thus, they set about recording what is essentially a tribute album of Nevermore songs circa 1997.
‘Alienigma’ isn’t a bad album, in fact it’s quite competent as a modern-sounding release, but it’s left many fans feeling disappointed that the classic style has been replaced by one equally as clichéd and repetitive as the one they obviously wished to leave behind, despite having more of a knack for it. The style never moves beyond sounding like a Nevermore clone, with liberal borrowings from this decade’s most prominent metal acts popular with macho morons, namely Machine Head and melodic death metal bands teetering dangerously on the edge of metalcore, specifically Arch Enemy. The sound is grounded in down-tuned riffs that lack much in the way of creativity or originality, while Bruce Hall’s vocals are almost entirely restricted to a half-hearted shout reminiscent of Machine Head’s Robb Flynn that occasionally reaches an octave or so higher to sound like a dead ringer for Nevermore’s Warrel Dane, clearly revealing the albums he’s been listening to since ‘Order of the Illuminati.’ Long-time guitarists Juan Garcia and Bernie Versailles are at their most disappointing and disillusioned in the riffs, all of which chug along entirely unremarkably, but fortunately their fantastic solos manage to make most songs worth listening to, always sounding fresh and original in a manner that’s both enjoyable and frustrating, as it rubs in just how much better this album could have been if the foundation was as good as the polish.
I have to credit the band for pulling off this uncharacteristically brutal and aggressive sound very well and completely convincingly, and any newcomers would most certainly be surprised to learn that these guys were around back when their dads were into metal, but it doesn’t make this any more impressive as just another entry in a dull genre that by all rights should have expired at the end of the last decade, but bizarrely continues to find favour with American metalheads. You might think I’m something of a hypocrite and madman for preferring that the band instead follow and even older and more outdated style in its place, and you’re probably right, but that would be to celebrate and continue expanding on a sound that still packs as much of a punch as it did back when most people weren’t ready for it. Continuing to abandon their roots, there’s also a minimal focus on the band’s old gimmick of alien abduction themes in the lyrics, being largely replaced with tirades against religion and the government that only cement the Nevermore comparison ever further.
1. Fashioned from Dust
2. Wash the Planet Clean
3. Hail to the Chief
4. Wormwood
5. Liberty Lies Bleeding
6. Hybridized
7. Tiamat’s Fall
8. WPD (World Pandemic Destruction)
9. Lamb to the Slaughter
10. Extinct
To cut to the chase, pretty much all of these songs sound exactly the same, and it’s only through a more focused and dedicated listen that certain favourites and rare moments of creativity shine through the mid-tempo ‘heaviness’; heaviness obviously being characterised by the extent to which you down-tune your guitar rather than the needlessly time-consuming task of having to come up with technically powerful riffs. Some songs are a little faster (‘Extinct’), some a little more traditional (‘Wormwood’), and some nothing more than an uninspired meeting of Machine Head aggro and Arch Enemy riffs (‘Wash the Planet Clean,’ ‘Liberty Lies Bleeding’), or at worst, Pantera with Pantera (‘Lamb to the Slaughter’). Opening track ‘Fashioned from Dust’ sets up the general sound acceptably without going overboard in offering anything special outside of the first of many great solos, maintaining a slow, hammering alliance of guitar and clicking bass drums that will continue without much interruption for the next fifty-three minutes.
The longer songs tend to be the ones that most noticeably outstay their welcome, with the six-minute ‘Hail to the Chief’ and ‘Hybridized’ not maintaining enough interest to justify their length despite an excess of breakdowns in the former and some ineffective spoken word in the latter that struggles to bring back the sci-fi theme, but fortunately the similarly lengthy ‘Wormwood’ burrows its way through these stale corpses and succeeds in being the stand-out track of the album, at least for fans who prefer the band’s older style as I do. The main riffs are still pieced together from Arch Enemy’s studio floor, but there’s a return for that old favourite the neoclassical solo, succeeding even the excellent virtuoso spots of tracks two and three, and Bruce Hall puts in his best effort to emulate the operatic singing of Eighties metal, though he’s still evidently restricted to the middle range, either by preference or vocal limitations; either way, it’s a refreshing break to hear him sound like Bruce Dickinson rather than Warrel Dane. It’s not a patch on the band’s better work, but at least proves that there’s still hope for future releases.
The harder songs that will appeal most to Machine Head / groove metal fans tend to come in the second half of the album, with most running out of steam and ideas long before they’re due to fade out. The finale ‘Extinct’ is the main exception, mostly due simply to its more appropriate length of under four minutes, but there’s also a greater amount of energy in this final performance from all the musicians, and the eager, early solo sounds properly integrated rather than hastily slapped on top of the repeating riffs as the song draws to a close. ‘Tiamat’s Fall,’ ‘WPD’ and ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ form the weakest section of the album, the first two for sounding pointlessly like Nevermore B-sides and the last just being a really unnecessary bit of Pantera worship, while ‘Wash the Planet Clean’ and ‘Liberty Lies Bleeding’ at least try to incorporate melodic death metal elements into the band’s sound so that anyone listening to this in a couple of centuries’ time will be able to place it in its correct decade, but it’s a real shame the band hadn’t exposed themselves to the more authentic and exciting bands playing this style in Scandinavia rather than the home-grown knock-offs that this ultimately resembles more.
‘Alienigma’ is, on the whole, an entirely pointless album, the only purpose of which could be to satisfy die-hard Nevermore fans with a sound-alike of that band’s better period prior to ‘Enemies of Reality.’ The substitution of Machine Head growls and Arch Enemy riffs for the band’s traditional speed metal sound was an unwise decision that was clearly going to alienate fans, and it’s a real shame that they didn’t choose a more worthwhile direction than generic post-thrash, or whatever you want to call it. I wouldn’t be so critical if their previous two albums hadn’t been of such high quality – get those instead.
Advantages: Some more repetitive groove metal tracks if you really needed them.
Disadvantages: Old men have lost their way and try to get back in touch; the result is merely competent.
Agents of Oblivion
Agents of Oblivion
Bleeding White Butterflies
****
Written on 15.11.07
Following Audie Pitre’s tragic death in 1997, the other members of Acid Bath respectfully agreed to call it a day, until the ceaselessly creative Dax Riggs formed Agents of Oblivion along with Mike Sanchez and a trio of newcomers. Expanding on the more psychedelic leanings of the defunct sludge band, as well as a brief in-between project allegedly titled Daisyhead & the Moon Crickets, Agents of Oblivion’s sole full-length release largely abandons Acid Bath’s angry groove metal style in a continuing process of Riggs’ softening up, culminating in his more recent project Deadboy & the Elephantmen. Thankfully, for doom fans like me who found the more hostile sections of Acid Bath a little primitive and unpalatable, this album is content to vary between catchy, mid-speed stoner rock in the style of Monster Magnet and numerous other bands who continue to reap the benefits of being a Black Sabbath sound-alike thirty years down the line, and more reflective and emotive psychedelia. There’s no shouting at all.
While its roots are firmly in the 1970s, this album’s clear, modern production keeps it sounding fresh, and the layering of sounds to a crescendo of volume is reminiscent of apocalyptic post-rock from the likes of Mogwai and their successors, while the basic variation between predominantly acoustic or electric songs maintains a nice degree of variety. In general, the softer, more thoughtful songs tend to be the most accomplished, benefitting from Riggs’ great vocals in a manner that was only hinted at in the more basic acoustic songs that occasionally crept into Acid Bath’s recordings, and although the more upbeat, sludgy songs are a lot of fun, the style gets rather repetitive by the end. It’s most likely for this reason that the album alternates between the two broad styles with each consecutive song, at least for the most part, but fortunately with commonalities through the backing synthesiser and predominantly slow pace to keep the odd/even shifts from being too obvious or jarring, as was the case with Iced Earth’s questionable thrash/ballad rotation on their album ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes.’
Riggs’ vocals are surprisingly the highlight of the album, and are far more suited to this slower and less aggressive style of rock than the slightly annoying shouting that characterised his earlier career. Moving between a deep, soft singing style almost like a croon, he successfully matches each section’s intensity and emotion in a really strong performance. The guitars of Riggs and Sanchez alternate between down-tuned groovy doom riffs and more atmospheric acoustic, with occasional lazy solos when the album calls for it. Alex Bergeron’s bass is distinctly audible due to the polished production, occasionally filling in when the guitars are absent, and Jeff McCarty puts in a memorable and interesting performance on drums, hitting sparingly but powerfully. Chuck Pitre fills in as the keyboard player to enhance and expand on the spacey atmosphere in most songs or provide lead piano, without any distracting keyboard solos. As these songs come from the same slightly twisted mind that brought us the often-depraved Acid Bath, the lyrics are still rooted in a distinct creepiness, but are used less for shock value here; thus, Riggs’ disturbed eroticism of ‘Ash of the Mind’ and disturbed romance of ‘Slave Riot’ (“Long ago I kissed her skull / sunbleached and beautiful / slick-wet with diesel fuel”) are more effective in their preoccupation with decay.
1. Endsmouth
2. Slave Riot
3. A Song That Crawls
4. Dead Girl [Acid Bath cover]
5. Phantom Green
6. The Hangman’s Daughter
7. Ladybug
8. Ash of the Mind
9. Wither
10. Paroled in ’54
11. Anthem (For This Haunted City)
12. Cosmic Dancer [T-Rex cover]
13. Big Black Backwards
As the album alternates between stoner rock and psychedelic acoustic emotive... whatever, it makes sense to compare the relevant songs within each style. The stoner rock style is arguably the more straightforward, mainly derivative of other contemporary and classic bands, and these songs are required to do something pretty special in order to stand out. ‘Slave Riot’ is a good start with its aforementioned twisted love lyrics, and the fast, blues-based riffing style carries through to ‘Ladybug,’ which is firmly rooted in the seventies but makes for a nice meeting of blues and some limited country influence, complete with a nice solo, and holds some great, subtle transitions as the song gets louder and angrier in the second half, before disorienting listeners completely with Riggs’ displaced double-tracked vocals. Duuude. ‘Ash of the Mind’ and ‘Paroled in ’54’ more or less continue the same style to less effect, though the latter is notable for slumping into a seriously stoned slow section that almost sees the album grind to a halt before the musicians get themselves together again. ‘Anthem (For This Haunted City)’ concludes this strand of the album nicely, granting everyone a chance to shine (even the bass), leading out with prominent solos backed by the haunting keyboards. The only other song that slots into this rough half of the album is the cover of Acid Bath’s own ‘Dead Girl,’ which I’m not quite so fond of due to my indifference to that earlier band and the shouting it entails, and though its Sabbath-style riffs incorporate seamlessly into this release, it has the unfortunate distinction of being pretty much the only song to really drag a on for a couple of minutes after my patience has expired.
That leaves a slightly more substantial and far more rewarding half of the album dominated by a depressive acoustic direction, much improved over Acid Bath’s earlier attempts at the style that came somewhere between this, and the terrible amateur ballad attempts of Pantera. Opener ‘Endmouth,’ central ‘Phantom Green’ and closing ‘Big Black Backwards’ all move from relative tranquillity to a loud, oppressive post-rock style at no cost to maintaining the sombre atmosphere, still based predominantly around Riggs’ compelling singing but backing it up effectively with the guitars, hard drums and spacey keyboards, the latter being permitted to deteriorate into utter weirdness at the end as some local kids swear at each other over a quiet synthesised trumpet. Presumably, whatever the listener was smoking will have taken its full effect by now. The rest are content to remain peaceful and reflective rather than apocalyptic, from the slow country-blues of the appropriately named ‘A Song That Crawls’ to the album’s finest moment in the almost suicidal ‘The Hangman’s Daughter,’ where Dax really sounds like he’s on his last tether. ‘Wither’ continues in a similar style with help from the keyboards, and the cover of T-Rex’s ‘Cosmic Dancer,’ a song I’m not otherwise familiar with, is different enough to stick out with its repetitive, sequential lyrics and even softer singing style, but kept from standing out too much. It’s quite good.
As would be expected from its place in the chronology, Agents of Oblivion is an almost perfect link between the enraged sludge of Acid Bath and the hippie “swamp rock” of Deadboy & the Elephantmen, combining stoner riffs with a prominent acoustic direction to make a great modern psychedelic album, one that might not be experimental enough for prog rockers or hard enough for metal fans, but meets my tastes nicely in the middle.
Advantages: Dax Riggs perfects his psychedelic style, free from the constraints of Acid Bath.
Disadvantages: A little uneven, with the more upbeat stoner rock seeming more like filler amidst the gloom
Aghora
Aghora
Son of Cynic
****
Written on 17.11.07
You can always rely on the excesses of progressive metal bands to add some much-needed complexity to an otherwise humdrum evening, and Florida’s Aghora are among the more interesting. Formed from the ashes of Cynic, one of the few legendary jazz fusion death metal bands of the early nineties who only ever released one album, Aghora is overall a less eccentric and violent affair, absorbing the lighter instrumental touch of Gordian Knot alumni and the contemplative Hinduism of its lyrical subject matter.
Unlike the majority of so-called progressive bands, who essentially aim to reproduce the style that their peers were playing approximately two years earlier (or in the case of Shadow Gallery, two decades), the musicians collected here all belong to the higher calibre of avant-garde musical experimentation that concerns itself with producing a decent, memorable and new sound, as opposed to just trying to sound like Dream Theater, or contenting themselves with a wall of sound to show how fast they can perform. The predominant writer-director of this piece is Santiago Dobles, who commendably limits his excellent guitars to the times when they’re really needed, unleashing a distinctly Cynic-sounding crunching riff in the instrumental sections and experimenting with several types of guitar solo, from the laid-back style of blues to a more traditional heavy metal sound and even, on occasion, the look-at-that-boy-go approach. Of equal merit is bassist Sean Malone (of both Cynic and Gordian Knot), who handles most of the lead rhythms that would traditionally be played by a guitar drowning the bass player out; this certainly isn’t the case here, and the primary lasting effect of this album is that it’s going to be hard to go back to the majority of effectively bass-less bands hereafter. Malone isn’t restricted to filling in the riffs or jamming along to his own piano however, as he also gets some nice, understated solos, in particular a nice interlude between Dobles’ contributions in ‘Frames.’
A slightly controversial casting decision is Dobles’ sister Danishta Rivero as the lead vocalist, though she’s completely competent and pleasant sounding, only really becoming questionable in some of the more energetic sections when her delivery sounds a little too jarring. Perhaps most notable, and certainly most popular of all is the drumming of Sean Reinert (of Cynic, Gordian Knot and Death’s classic album ‘Human,’ among other credits), who manages to be incredibly prominent and compelling without ever intruding on the rest of the instruments, or showing off for the sake of it, and he receives his due reward of a little time in the solo spotlight at the end of ‘Existence.’ To their immense credit, these musicians keep the entire album grounded in memorable and catchy rhythms, even when jumping between time signatures or unleashing a blast of frenetic guitars to disturb the peace, and this higher degree of accessibility makes it a less trying and less pompous affair than would probably be expected. At the same time, this could serve to disappoint fans of the aforementioned bands as well as other such as Spiral Architect or death-fusion pioneers Atheist, but there’s enough virtuosity between the more reflective and traditional passages to satiate the majority. And come on, we’re dealing with jazz fusion influenced progressive metal here; it’s not exactly going to be everyone’s cup of tea.
1. Immortal Bliss
2. Satya
3. Transfiguration
4. Frames
5. Mind’s Reality
6. Kali Yuga
7. Jivatma
8. Existence
9. Anugraha
Despite its experimental leanings, most songs follow the similar (broad) format of a melodic introduction, usually carried out by bass and piano before the drums kick in, a generally peaceful, lofty tone in the verses, and a slightly more energetic, guitar-led chorus before the band goes off on one with some solos in the second half. There’s never a sense of conceding to tradition though, with Rivero’s vocals usually coming in a lot earlier than is typical, usually right from the onset, and Dobles’ very loose and spontaneous attitude towards his guitar, which sometimes blasts out a brief riff between verses and other times decides to stay for the long haul.
There are attempts at an Eastern tinge right from the first song, usually in the form of a slightly clichéd-sounding lead melody (also heard in ‘Mind’s Reality’), but this influence becomes more dominant as the album continues (again, loosely speaking), from the contemplative mood of the otherwise fairly dull ‘Transfiguration’ and lengthy instrumental ‘Jivatma’ to the final song, which largely abandons its metal roots and assigns the performers the task of creating an authentic Eastern sound, something they pull of expertly, as expected. These three songs in particular work well to break up what would otherwise be a fairly repetitive album, but would perhaps lack the strength to stand effectively alone as well: despite the praise levelled towards ‘Jivatma’ as a piece of instrumental grandeur, I was actually a little disappointed that it remained so restrained, though avoiding plunging into more obtuse realms that bring the progressive genre so much criticism was probably a wise move, and certainly one that helps the rest of the album.
‘Immortal Bliss’ is a nice introduction, beginning as a fairly standard metal song before subtly tripping the listener up with increasing time signature shifts, but compared to the songs that follow in much the same manner, it’s probably most memorable for Rivero’s vocal performance, which reaches some reeeeeally high notes in a questionable attempt to match the skill of the surrounding musicians. Her style doesn’t suit the next song or ‘Mind’s Reality’ quite so well, as she’s pitted against her brother’s thrashing guitar in both, but it all works beautifully in the bass- and piano-driven verses. The songs are all trimmed to pretty much the perfect length, with some such as the more reflective and complex ‘Frames’ being given a longer cooling-off period and the majority ceasing abruptly before they lapse into repetition. The only song that really suffers for this is ‘Mind’s Reality,’ which is a little too short and lacking in content to be of much value compared to the others, and along with the more ambient songs mentioned earlier, is probably the least essential offering on here.
Oddly, it’s the even-numbered tracks that I found the most rewarding (the same works for Star Trek films), as ‘Satya,’ ‘Frames,’ ‘Kali Yuga’ and ‘Existence’ all nail the sound and style to perfection. The latter two in particular manage to be more diverse than their predecessors, combining heavy and melodic sections with greater skill and frequency, and opportunities for the performers to play whatever the hell they want, regardless of how easy it will be approach. They needn’t worry, as ‘Aghora’ is a wholly successful prog metal offering from some of the genre’s most recognised performers, living up to the true definition of ‘progressive metal’ while also making music to be enjoyed by a wider audience than just pipe smokers who nod along occasionally, scratching their bearded, middle-aged faces.
Advantages: Excellent and approachable jazzy prog metal from legendary performers.
Disadvantages: Female vocals sometimes seem out of place, and the style becomes a little repetitive.
Agnostic Front
Warriors
**
Written on 20.11.07
The new album from New York hardcore punks Agnostic Front continues to mix angry punk rock with shouty hardcore, and as but one of a seemingly endless number of similar-sounding albums having been released every year for the last couple of decades, it brings nothing new to the scene apart from some new material of Agnostic Front sounding like themselves. The whole album is based on fast, riff-heavy songs with multiple, moshable ‘breakdowns’ as a substitution for musical diversity, backed by relentless double bass drums in a clicking frenzy that again permits the drummer to avoid having to put any thought into what he’s doing. But of course, this is still punk first and foremost; a genre that has no delusions of Rimsky-Korsakov.
All the same, I found ‘Warriors’ to be a largely disappointing, or at best entirely bland experience, lacking the intensity that I can just about stomach from their contemporaries such as Sick of it All, and still apparently trying to earn fans from the metal world by incorporating a more ‘metalcore’ sound into their hardcore, extending to adding a few fairly decent guitar solos and making the guitars sound a little fiercer than the punk standard. This didn’t do anything for me, naturally as someone who loathes all these modern corruptions of metal, though I did quite enjoy the traditional heavy metal style chorus of the title song, so I guess I’m as easily won over as anyone else (but by far stupider things). I’m far more interested in the band sticking to their punk roots, and this generally makes for the better songs, particularly ‘Black and Blue’ and ‘For My Family,’ the latter being about as close to a love song as punk should ever be allowed to get, as a brotherly tribute to the band’s closest friends and community spirit. But still shouted and bitter, obviously.
Roger Miret’s hardcore yell is enough to put me off ever listening to this band again, threatening to mellow out as late as the eleventh song, but still not quite getting there. I’ve never been a fan of this confrontational vocal style (makes you wonder why I listen to this genre at all really), and although the rest of the instruments are a little better than the average for punk, it’s all but expected for such a relatively high profile band. There’s plenty of swearing and aggro, balanced out by occasional positive feelings to prove that the band is still human, though to be honest the self-explanatory ‘Forgive Me Mother’ is a little cringe-worthy in its sentiment, and it’s hard to take Miret completely seriously as he adopts this kindly woman’s persona and yells what he imagines she might be thinking. Although I seem to be opposed to the lead vocalist’s needless yells, I conversely really enjoy the unison yelling of the band in the punk choruses. And as for the ridiculous macho aggression cover, it at least gives a fair indication of what to expect from the album – and, presumably, any accompanying live shows.
It’s my own fault for listening to all music with preconceptions that it should be a little varied or original in order to entertain me, but ‘Warriors’ feels completely like a simple clone of every other hardcore punk album in existence. There are a couple of nice touches that keep it from being pointless, namely the slower and more thoughtful songs such as ‘We Want the Truth’ and ‘Come Alive,’ and the slightly free-form ‘By My Side’ until it lets rip with another round of breakdowns, but there’s no way this could make it to the essential purchases list of anyone but a dedicated Agnostic Front fan who refused to open their mind and listen to the much better versions of the same thing being produced elsewhere. The songs are all insubstantial, being too short to be of much worth but thankfully not so long that they become annoying in of themselves, and on the whole it’s quite a confusing release from Nuclear Blast, who routinely specialise in Scandinavian extreme metal.
If you’re an old-time punk who’s interested in seeing how your favourite genre has been corrupted by today’s angry acts, this is as good a place as any. Unless of course you want to be really sickened, in which case I point you in the happy-crappy direction of Blink-182 and their ilk.
1. Addiction
2. Dead to Me
3. Outraged
4. Warriors
5. Black and Blue
6. Change Your Ways
7. For My Family
8. No Regrets
9. Revenge
10. We Want the Truth
11. By My Side
12. Come Alive
13. All These Years
14. Forgive Me Mother
15. Break the Chains
Advantages: Punk roots still hold their own against the oppressive hardcore and metal elements.
Disadvantages: Lacks any kind of originality or self-worth.
Aina
***
Written on 22.11.07
I was pretty excited when I finally got my hands on 'Days of Rising Doom,' the sole release (so far) from a veritable supergroup of power metal that I remembered being unanimously applauded on this site a few years ago, but at the same time I was almost certain that it was going to be a disappointment for one reason or another; namely, if this self-proclaimed 'Metal Opera' didn't live up to either style. Unfortunately, it doesn't.
One of the many prominent figures in international power metal to grace this recording, Tobias Sammet had already released a similarly ambitious project with two albums under the name Avantasia, which also bore the collective title 'The Metal Opera.' Perhaps it was this idea of pushing the concept album idea further than before, utilising multiple vocalists in the guise of characters, that persuaded producer Sascha Paeth and the key musicians involved in the Aina concept to try something similar, while also aiming to beat what may have been viewed as Sammet's unsuccessful attempt at establishing a new genre. Although the Avantasia albums are completely excellent (much better than this, but I'll get to that in a minute), they are admittedly entrenched firmly within the power metal style of Sammet's day-job band Edguy with only a few notable touches attempting to branch out into something resembling opera. The big mistake made by the Aina creators was their misguided belief that employing a vast array of orchestration and drafting in some choirboys could enhance a collection of dull, basic and unimaginative metal anthems and rock ballads into something resembling a masterpiece.
Aina, or rather 'Days of Rising Doom' (though the titles are interchangeable, as this is the group's only release), is a perfect example of a flimsy, unremarkable idea resting entirely on the strength of a supremely talented but utterly misused all-star cast; I'm sure there are several films you can think of, where that the same thing applies. To their credit, the numerous vocalists representing the characters and providing intermittent narration are all pretty excellent, from the aforementioned Sammet who never fails to cheer me up when I hear his voice, making 'Flight of Torek' my most enjoyed song here for that reason alone, to Helloween's Michael Kiske and the excellent Damian Wilson, formerly of UK prog metal band Threshold as well as Valjean in Les Miserables and a load of other stuff. Surprisingly disappointing are the guest musicians, almost universally providing either a guitar or keyboard solo in selected songs, and it's this brevity that presents the real problem; superior projects of a similar style will usually offer an entire song to a guest performer and allow them to adapt it to suit their style (I'm thinking particularly of Arjen Lucassen's incredible Ayreon releases, the original and best metal operas), but here the performances from Stratovarius' Jens Johansson, Dream Theater's Derek Sherinian, Kamelot's Thomas Youngblood, Nightwish's Empuu Vuorinen and Erik Norlander (Lana Lane collaborator and husband) pass by all but unnoticed, serving mainly to attract progressive/power metal fans reading paragraphs like this and thinking, "ooh, that bloke."
The guests mean very little as the foundation itself is so insubstantial, and clearly - very disappointingly and quite laughably - aimed at achieving commercial success as much as peer recognition within the metal world. All the songs are kept to radio-friendly lengths and, as the second disc proves, are essentially the trimmed 'radio edits' formed from longer, though not necessarily more substantial material. Although presented as a double album release, the metal opera is confined entirely to the first (thankfully), with the second providing alternate versions and additional extras for those who liked what they heard on the main feature. Sascha Paeth has produced many acclaimed albums that all but defined the symphonic metal style worldwide from the late nineties to the present, from the early albums of Rhapsody to the later albums of Kamelot, but his technical credentials only stretch as far as granting a great clean and distinct sound to the instruments; the real creative work was a combined effort between Robert Hunecke-Rizzo, Michael Rodenberg and lyricist Amanda Somerville, who created the storyline and even developed Aina's own language that appears in a couple of songs for added authenticity and geekiness. The story itself is almost embarrassing clichéd and obvious, dealing with a battle for leadership over the kingdom of Aina, combined with a rubbish love story that's only there so Somerville gets to sing a bit alongside all the men. Power metal has never been particularly renowned for its lyrics and subject matter, and indeed there are plenty of worse and even more cringe-inducing album plots out there (as well as some really cool and imaginative ones as well, Ayreon again being prime example), but this hardly seems worth writing an opera about. Avantasia's plot was much better, and Rhapsody's five-album-strong 'Emerald Sword Saga' far more involved (some, such as myself, would argue: perhaps a little too involved).
Disc 1: 'Days of Rising Doom'
1. Aina Overture
2. Revelations
3. Silver Maiden
4. Flight of Torek
5. Naschtok is Born
6. The Beast Within
7. The Siege of Aina
8. Talon's Last Hope
9. Rape of Oria
10. Son of Sorvahr
11. Serendipity
12. Lalae Amer
13. Rebellion
14. Oriana's Wrath
15. Restoration
'Days of Rising Doom' substantially fails to satisfy as an elaborate metal production, beginning so far up its own rectum that it would have to be really impressive to escape, something it never manages to achieve (though this at least prevents it from being described as truly faecal). If the performers were a little less bombast, you'd even be fooled into thinking there was no running plot whatsoever; there certainly isn't anything in the way of repeating musical motifs to tie it all together, apart from a brief resurgence of an earlier choir towards the end, and the final track just sort of plods its way into a fade-out rather than showing off in the expected grand finale. Most tracks follow a tired power metal archetype of mindless double pass drum pedals behind a fast, pointless guitar, and the nice vocals and occasionally enjoyable lead guitar are played over the top. Bizarrely, these songs are presumably so involved in establishing the plot and finding time to squeeze all the orchestration into the background that no real attempt is made to make them memorable or catchy, with only a couple of exceptions in the way of 'Naschtok is Born' and 'Son of Sovahr.' At the other extreme, the truly operatic moments are sparse, first appearing half-way through in 'The Beast Within' and after that only in the sibling rivalry of later tracks.
Most of this album is technically metal, though not in an inspired, creative or even really enjoyable way, relying on a generic power metal sound that falls drastically short of the greats, whose members have been pilfered temporarily for this comparative failure. This means that 'Revelations,' 'Flight of Torek' and about half of the songs thereafter follow a traditional verse/chorus/solo structure and end before anything exciting has been permitted to happen. Worse are the rock ballads, that creep up with unnerving consistency and are matched by truly awful lyrics, the low point probably being the fluffy 'Silver Maiden' that has been accurately slated elsewhere for sounding like something from a Disney film. It's horrible, and has no place on an album proclaiming itself to be 'metal' (though even bands as definitively metal as Manowar have been guilty of similar atrocities in the past). The drums and bass don't even bear mentioning, apart from a brief summary: boring. As mentioned earlier, the orchestration is all intelligent and nice, but can't help to make these basic songs any more interesting just by adding atmosphere in the background - as was the case when bands such as Metallica and Kiss combined their own primitive back catalogues with a live symphony. The ambition is undoubtedly here, but it all falls apart under a lack of direction, or more accurately a well-meaning but incredibly unimaginative one. For a much better version of what is basically the same idea, check out Ayreon, Avantasia or any pretentious prog rock album that divides its tracks into Acts.
Even in the most generic release, there will often be something that stands out to catch the listener's attention, whether good or bad. It was sadly the latter for me, as the choice to draft in the Trinity School Boys' Choir on a couple of tracks provided an uncomfortable reminder of one particular breed of English child (among many in my wizened, curmudgeonly world view) that I would delight in seeing exterminated, rather than having to endure singing at me in cheery cockney voices as if they're in 'Oliver!' I hate those sweet boys.
Advantages: Nice incorporation of orchestra beyond the usual standard of metal releases.
Disadvantages: A bland collection of power metal songs and rubbish ballads, disguised as a masterpiece.
Ajattara
Kalmanto
*
Written on 25.11.07
Ajattara is a sort of side-project of members from various Helsinki metal bands, and takes its name from an evil goddess of the forest in local folklore. Beyond that, all song titles and lyrics are in their native Finnish, so I haven't a clue what this is all about. Not that the language barrier presents a problem; in fact, I enjoy it when black metal bands use their native tongue to communicate their sinister pagan ideas, as it makes it all more authentic somehow. And it's all inaudible noise when growled in that raspy yell in any case.
It's a shame then that Ajattara's use of Finnish language is pretty much the only point of interest here, and that's only because I haven't heard their previous four albums. I'm surprised the band has had such a prolific decade, as based on the sound of this most recent album, they don't have anything much to add to an already oversaturated genre. Pasi Koskinen, styling himself as Ruoja, provides a mix of black metal growls and medium range clean vocals, and his impressive CV features such notable bands as Amorphis, during their lengthy flirtation with commercial success, and the depressing doom band Shape of Despair. He also provides guitar along with Kalmos (Vesa Wahlroos), but this is just one of the instruments played to extreme dissatisfaction throughout, never scaling the emotive or energetic heights that Ruoja's vocals often attain, and mostly ambling along in an over-repetitive groove. Shade Empire's Juha Harju plays all-but-inaudible bass and provides modest backing vocals under the alias Tohtori Kuolio, and Sinergy's former drummer Tommi Lillman plods through with some brainless double bass work and fittingly repetitive and similarly bland rhythms, adopting the pseudonym Malakias IV perhaps to draw attention to the band's revolving door of disillusioned musicians that has seen a different drummer (among other members) for nearly every release.
It's a disappointment that musicians from such prestigious and varied backgrounds within the lucrative Helsinki metal scene came up with something so worthless, their powers of melodic death, funeral doom, black and power metal combining to form a crap Captain Planet out of tedious, talentless, badly played trite. Even more disappointing is that the album doesn't even go the full way to being absolutely godawful, which would at least grant it some reluctant comedy value. No, it's far more boring than that, coming in towards the 'very rubbish' part of the spectrum, like those films that are so pointlessly awful, they don't even hold a prestigious position on the IMDB's Bottom 100 list of must-see garbage. It's the 'Hercules Against the Moon Men' of melodic black metal.
1. Ilkitie
2. Turhuuden takila
3. Madot
4. ...putoan
5. Harhojen virta
6. Suruntuoja
7. Naimalaulu
8. Alttarilla aamutähden
9. Kalmanto
Most songs on this disappointingly/mercifully short album (depending on your perspective. The second one is more correct though) sound similar to the point of total blurring, especially as the listener isn't invited to pay too much attention to the droning repetition of simplistic groove riffs overlaid with often jarring and misused keyboards and Ruoja's vocals, which are by no means excellent, but are the only aspect of the music that manage to impress to any degree. In most songs he opts for a reliable emotive growl in the vein of Norway's Count Grishnackh, but some choruses, such as those of the first and fourth songs, usher forth a more melodic and sing-song performance that's joined by his companions. His clean vocals aren't up to as much as his growl, judging by this album alone (I haven't heard anything from his era of Amorphis), but the final song certainly demonstrates his range if nothing else whatsoever within its four minutes of background noise and slowed, staccato riffs.
As with many Helsinki bands, chiefly the rather extreme Finntroll, there seems to be some yearning to connect with folk history, which would be in accordance with the band's alleged pagan themes, and elements of some songs border on the edge of a folk direction, most notably the keyboard melody of 'Naimalaulu' that seems intent on replicating a wind instrument. More successful are the two tracks that veer towards a Viking metal style, namely songs five and eight which adopt a slightly slower tempo and for once, manage to incorporate the keyboards properly to enhance the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is taken up by dull, lowest-common-denominator riff-centric metal that lacks the vital ingredient of riffs that are any good. There's something of an atmosphere created by the album, but the songs are all so repetitive, mechanical and relatively short that this mood isn't granted time to gestate in any form, try as they might to artificially enhance it with samples of tortured screams in several songs, replaced with the highly original idea of a woman having an orgasm in track seven (the same thing having been done to a far greater degree by Aborym).
Ultimately, 'Kalmanto' is a worthless album of melodic black metal that lacks energy, creativity and pretty much everything else that should be expected of such a release. It isn't hilariously bad - there are no ambitious ideas falling flat on their face - it's just very rubbish.
Advantages: Lyrics in Finnish, for natives who hate English.
Disadvantages: Dull and ineffective.
Akashic
Timeless Realm
***
Written on 27.11.07
Another review of another mediocre metal band, this time slotting with disappointing ease into the established softer side of modern progressive metal. The debut from Brazil's Akashic sounds similar to many other bands playing this melodic strand of prog, which is based more on traditional song structures and instrumentation with only a little in the way of extended solo sections and a couple of jarring time shifts to demonstrate its progressive credentials, and ultimately ends up sounding like a combination of a bland Threshold, a sub-par Symphony X and a poor man's Shadow Gallery, the latter of which is really saying something.
Despite the band's origins in the technically-oriented 'solo' band of guitarist Marcos De Ros, the fret theatrics are toned down considerably for this more mainstream release, based primarily in fairly simple, chugging riffs reminiscent of Symphony X, eventually complimented by brief, neo-classical solos reminiscent of Symphony X. Drummer Mauricio Meinert doesn't particularly stand out at the back, in contrast to the arguable over-reliance on Éder Bergozza's keyboards as a lead instrument, featuring almost as prominently as the guitars despite mainly focusing on slightly annoying twinkly melodies and, on occasion, some seriously sub-Symphony X solos. Singer Rafael Gubert carries out most of his performance in a melodic, almost poppy manner similar to Threshold in the less prestigious era under Mac, but occasionally veers into metal territory with a slightly angrier snarl that chiefly brings to mind Russell Allen of a band whose name you can probably guess. It has an X in it. Last but surprisingly not least is Fábio Elves, whose bass guitar work has been toned down a little from his tenure in De Ros but who still gets a couple of nice lead moments in the last couple of tracks, almost as if he wanted to snag a mention in my review. Well done.
Gubert's voice isn't a bad aspect of the album, and in fact fits in very well with the melodic direction, but it's the stale sound itself that I have the real gripes with; the instruments are merely competent for the most part, and it feels like every song is stretched far beyond its natural end point into over-repetition and, less commonly, unnecessary attempts to prove the band's proginess that don't really convince. Only a few songs come in short of five minutes, and these tend to be the better ones, though the epic centrepiece 'Memories,' despite only really being epic in terms of length, manages to encourage a more thoughtful and interesting performance from all concerned in this otherwise inoffensively bland release. With so many superior prog metal albums out there following this same commercial direction (as opposed to bands pursuing a more interesting, avant-garde direction or just those interested in replicating the showmanship of Dream Theater), this album can only end up seeming a little pointless, with its obvious ballads and slightly dodgy lyrics. Still, there's only so many times you can listen to Threshold's sci-fi stories, and it does have a pleasant front cover doesn't it?
1. Heaven's Call
2. For Freedom
3. Voices and Signs
4. Who Am I?
5. The Fire of Temptation
6. Dove
7. Memories
8. Salvation
9. Gates of Firmament
10. Veiled Secrets
There are a couple of different styles present on this album, neither of which will come as a surprise to anyone with preconceptions of a soft prog metal album, or indeed any rock album in general. Nothing's too fast to cross over into the prog-power style of fellow Brazilians Angra, and the progressive influence never takes over to the point of inaccessibility or songs that take a while to grow on you. That said, it will probably take several listens to fully appreciate this album simply because it tends to wash over the listener in its repetition, but those repeated listens are better spent elsewhere. Most of these songs are based in simple power chords and hard riffs to make them sufficiently 'metal,' though there's nothing too heavy here, and every so often a piano ballad comes along to spoil things, most notably the weak point of the album in 'Dove.'
Fitting to their spirit of obviousness and predictability, each song's direction can be correctly deduced simply by reading the title: the more fantasy- and mythology-based 'Voices and Signs,' 'The Fire of Temptation' and 'Gates of Firmament' sound like Symphony X off-cuts and are suitably the slightly heavier, shorter, more energetic and consequently best offerings. 'For Freedom' and 'Who Am I?' are softer and keyboard-led, with peacefully plucking guitars and heroic, anthemic choruses, acceptably catchy in a breezy sort of way but overdosing on the keys, while the aforementioned 'Dove' and 'Veiled Secrets' take this one step further into more traditional and tedious ballads. The odd-ones-out are opener 'Heaven's Call' and 'Memories,' which squeeze in some tempo changes and further solo spots in an attempt to improve the album's prog credibility, and thankfully both are pretty good, if negatively affected by the additional length required. The problem with these more experimental sections are that they present an otherwise non-existent barrier to the album's acceptance as radio-friendly rock, which it was never really going to be anyway, though it would at least have been effective as generic background music.
Akashic is a rather disappointing direction for the skilled musicians formerly of De Ros, and grateful as I am that they spared the world another Dream Theater clone, they merely took the similarly uninspired direction of a Threshold sound-alike. The band's second album 'A Brand New Day,' released in 2005, seems to have tackled the issue of unnecessary song length, but it remains to be seen whether the band has truly progressed to a point where their sound has become their own.
Advantages: Mellow, accessible prog metal.
Disadvantages: Lacks the expected experimental angle.
Akercocke
***
Written on 29.11.07
This debut release from the eternally besuited, well-groomed and well-mannered London gents who are nevertheless clearly going to Hell (if they really do believe all this stuff), fails to shake off the sense of being a slightly overlong demo tape. By slightly I mean it comes in at a still meagre thirty-five minutes rather than twenty-five, and by demo I mean unpolished, raw-sounding compositions connected by worthless interludes in a deceptive attempt to bulk out the track-list to something approaching ten. The good news is that the dingy world of black metal is perfectly suited to just this type of raw performance, many bands bizarrely sounding far more palatable when stripped down to a thin, fuzzy sound than when subjected to the infernal mechanisms of a high-budget studio, and Akercocke's violent, mournful and disturbed sound doesn't suffer one bit from this primitive, tomb-like atmosphere, though it also fails to use it to any real advantage in evoking eeriness.
The low production values will likely ward off cautious listeners - you know, the ones who haven't already been scared away by the obscenity and suggestiveness of the title and artwork or the rude word skilfully secreted inside the band name - but the musicians are fortunately on top form, their skill being audible and wholly enjoyable despite a lack of extra force in the mix. Both guitars can be distinctly heard, and play off against each other nicely on occasion, handled by Paul Scanlan and Jason Mendonça, who also provides an impressive range of vocals from the standard low grunt of brutal death metal (Cannibal Corpse, Mortician) to very effective incorporation of harrowed, breathy clean vocals in tracks two and nine; a really piercing yell in track three that puts contemporaries Cradle of Filth to shame; a forceful yell in track ten, and an extended performance in a softer, gothic style for the excellent fifth track. Peter Theobald's bass is fleshed out by the thin production and provides distinct rhythms for all songs while the guitars mess around with solos, and the drums of David Gray (no, not that one. That would be funny though) range from full-pelt blast beats to more relaxed, catchy rhythms in the more atmospheric songs and interludes. The line-up lacks a keyboard player at this point, another factor serving to make this album unique, but prominent samples of voices and atmospheric or mechanical sound effects are still employed on about half of the tracks.
The album begins with a clichéd forsaking of God and invocation of Satan that's so short as to be on the verge of skip-worthy, the first of many wastes of time here, but the rest of the album avoids falling into the tedious territory of mere Satan worship for shock's sake, offering a mix of emotive and often downright strange pleas and accounts that are more often than not tinged with sexuality and overflowing with evil, though not in an overtly disgusting, Cannibal Corpse way. The band's genre has provided a source of debate as far back as their previous incarnation as Salem Orchid, with some insisting on black metal, others going for death metal, and most agreeing to place a slash mark in the middle and accept it as a combination of both. On this first album the seams are a little more evident, with some tracks falling slightly more obviously into each respective camps and others slipping off the scale entirely. It's not that unusual, not even that good from a critical perspective, but it's interesting.
1. Declaration
2. Hell
3. Nadja
4. The Goat
5. Marguerite and Gretchen
6. Sephiroth Rising
7. Zuleika
8. Conjuration
9. Il Giardino Di Monte Oliveto Maggiore
10. Justine
66. The Blood
From the daft 'Declaration' where some well-spoken girls renounce God in a manner that I can't help finding slightly alluring (I'm a sucker for the accent, as opposed to the message), the album lets rip with a couple of fast songs in the black/death style, the former being slightly more attuned to black metal in its harsh, treble-heavy guitars and reliance on gimmicky effects, and the second being more in line with traditional death with its hammering drums, heavy breakdowns and guitars that sound like they're scraping against the roof of a coffin. This is also the first taste of a squealy, discordant guitar solo, which the gentlemen improve upon significantly with later tracks. Unfortunately, just as things are getting interesting, the listener is forced to contend with the first of three tedious and entirely worthless interlude tracks, this one using cheap horror sound effects and crunchy static in a pale imitation of Ulver's scary intro to their classic 'Een Stemme Locker' that has been more recently ripped off by Agalloch numerous times. The problem with Akercocke's eerie interludes here is that none of them really sound eerie in any way, the sound effects never convincing of the evil presence that haunts similar compositions from the likes of Behemoth and Burzum, and most often (as is the case with tracks six and sixty-six), sounding more like someone scrolling through the sound effects from a 'Sonic the Hedgehog' game.
Ignoring this second pointless bridge between them, 'Marguerite and Gretchen' and 'Zuleika' represent the peak of the album, the first seeing the band's gothic romantic side come to the fore with a style initially reminiscent of Eighties goth, including the catchy, repetitive drum beat, deep vocals and repeated guitar hook, but inevitably collapsing back into a black metal cacoffiny for the energetic conclusion. The lyrics are expectedly lovelorn in a slightly twisted way as Mendonça divulges the pleasure he experiences, as "I inhale the sweetness of the innocence I destroy," and there's even a nice female presence in the form of a soprano who sings sweet, wordless nothings in the more pleasant sections. It's a nicely confused song, and probably this album's main selling point. 'Zuleika' is very different, opting for a straightforward death metal direction in the classic style, with the tale of insatiable lust communicated solely through indecipherable grunts, and guitars spewing solos like so much spilled blood. The poor production may prevent it from attaining the head-crushing ferocity of higher budget extreme metal acts, but there's enough sheer force as each section leaps with increasing ferocity to the next that this really doesn't become an issue. You can tell the subject matter is angrier because there's a strong swear word in the lyrics, as well as some lines that are just plain weird: "I could almost believe in Allah for your sake."
Ignoring the chanted 'Conjuration' is the only reasonable course of action to proceed to the final two impressive songs, disappointingly only the fifth and sixth if scrutinising the album from a value-for-money angle that it really doesn't stand up to, and the style returns to that of the openers. 'Il Giardino Di Monte Oliveto Maggiore' is enjoyable, boasting a great main riff and cool, creepy singing that sounds disconcertingly uncertain of itself, but it becomes quite clear at this point that the band has effectively run out of ideas, presumably the reason behind half of this album being made up of half-hearted filler. 'Justine' is even more irritating as the finale, taking over a minute of white noise to get started (and nearly as long to conclude), and once again resorting to ineffective samples to needlessly bulk out the sound, though it has to be said that there are some really good lead guitars in this one. As a final treat - or more likely, an attempt to add yet more deceptive value to this limited release by adding some minutes to the counter - there are fifty-five tracks of brief silence before a final bonus track comes in and subjects the listener to a few more rubbish Sonic sound effects. The most pathetic thing of all is, there isn't even anything nasty about the number 66; the band clearly intended it as a sort of joke or clever point concerning the supposed number of the beast, which is actually six hundred greater, but as CD players are only programmed to read up to 99 tracks the joke falls flat on its stupid Satanic face.
Akercocke would go on to release some of the more refined and interesting albums in British extreme metal, but this debut is best avoided unless you go in for the ambient experience of frequent interludes and don't mind them being considerably sub-standard. There are a few decent songs on here, but it's the fact that there are so few that's the problem; stemming from a previous band formed seven years earlier, you'd think these gentlemen would have amassed more material by 1999, but alas, they were probably preoccupied at the tailor's or the masque or something.
Advantages: Some nice, raw, devilish metal from posh Londoners.
Disadvantages: Interludes are far too frequent, far too tedious and far too terrible.
Akurat
Fantasmagorie
***
Written on 04.12.07
The third album from Poland's ska-punk-reggae-pop band Akurat provides thirteen more songs that continue to mix their various influences in various ways, with varying degrees of success. Released on the prominent Polish label Metal Mind, the album has a great polished (Polished?) production sound suited to the light, jangly ska guitars and prominent brass, but is also fully capable of delivering a more powerful kick on the rare occasions this is necessary. Tinged with pop vocal melodies to keep it accessible, this album should appeal to all fans of the lighter side of reggae-influenced ska, as long as non-Polish speakers don't mind not being able to understand a word that's being said.
The band is fronted by Tomasz Klaptocz, whose vocals are soft and pleasant enough to retain commercial appeal, and occasionally veer into a slightly irritating/relaxing (depending on your point of view) easy listening murmur. Klaptocz also provides the trumpets, mostly used sparingly to add the rhythm section but occasionally - increasingly it seems, as the album approaches the end - substituting for a lead instrument in place of the guitars. The trumpets, along with the saxophone and flute occasionally provided by Przemyslaw Zwias, add a nice sense of depth and variety to what would otherwise be a fairly standard happy rock album, and as much as they may irritate listeners who aren't fond of horns, their careful and comparatively limited presence manages to convey a range of emotions and give English listeners a clue as to the mood or subject of each song.
The whole ska/reggae thing is obviously a very old and clichéd sound so many years down the line, and this album never strives to achieve anything unrealistically original, instead working to perfect the band's own hybrid of the sound, moving away from their punk roots towards a more mainstream direction with no loss of talent or creativity. There's a very obvious shift between slower, chilled-out reggae offerings and happy, bouncy ska-pop, but most impressive of all are the songs that fall somewhere between, or incorporate further, odder influences into the mix. The genre's customary jangly guitars are provided by Piotr Wróbel and Wojciech Zólty, sometimes shifting to a heavier tone and even offering a couple of very rare solos, while Ireneusz Wojnar's bass does a great job filling in the rhythm section in their place, certainly a more demanding and rewarding job than it would be for a more typical rock band in which guitars would drown the instrument out. Lukasz Gocal's drums set the various moods perfectly, but are otherwise a little devoid of inspiration.
1. Tylko najwieksi
2. Fantasmagorie
3. Slowa maja mnie
4. Kiedy wróce tu
5. Demo
6. Sama smietanka
7. Szerzej
8. Garb
9. Kiedy blizej z toba bede
10. Jeden czlowiek to jeden sens
11. Pracuje
12. Lan
13. Czy to juz
As noted, the album tends to fall into three distinct camps of slow reggae, bouncy ska-pop and "something slightly different," so it's most insightful to analyse the album from those three respective areas. The first, slower sound opens the album with the relaxing first track before shifting up a gear in the second, a jarring pattern executed repeatedly through the forty-five minute recording to keep listeners on their toes, and this first offering is a fair overview of what is to come (at least, in this particular style): the Polish vocals are fairly deep and thoughtful, the bass is prominent, and the trumpets are used sparingly to enhance and spice up the background. Track four, 'Kiedy wróce tu,' returns to this focus of the vocals carrying listeners through as the main instrument against a dub-style instrumental backdrop, but fails to do anything really new. This also disappointingly becomes the failing of 'Kiedy blizej z toba bede' and the penultimate 'Lan,' lacking in the energy of the more upbeat songs and only compensating for their dullness with some interesting sax and trumpet leads. The latter half of the album tends to be the less impressive in general, no matter what style is being attempted.
The happy-crappy ska-pop songs are among the most enjoyable, particularly in contrast to the often relaxing-but-nothing-else tedium of the slower pieces, and things are kicked off nicely with the title track, rightfully selected as the album's first single. The jovial "ba-ba-ba" trumpets will put some people off straight away, but the chorus is nice and catchy (I don't know what any of it means, but that doesn't matter), the sprightly, slightly higher vocals are pleasing on the ear, and there's a nice, loose instrumental section towards the end. The following track 'Slowa maja mnie' attempts a similar thing to less effect, but thankfully slows down a little to achieve a more meaningful tone, aided by the lower vocals and ominous, clunking bass. The vocal melody is catchy once again, and actually serves to remind me mainly of theme tunes to imported Easter European cartoon series of my youth (like 'Alfred J. Kwak,' 'Ovide' and others that I can't remember the names of). There's also a sax solo, which is always a nice touch.
This particular, upbeat style is arguably perfected with the sixth track 'Sama smietanka,' my favourite on the album, which unleashes a great punk energy right from the start that is absent from most of the other songs, and even plunges into a heavier, almost heavy metal chorus. Things are brightened up even further with unexpected solos towards the end for the bass, trumpet and even guitar. A proper guitar solo has to wait until 'Garb,' another interesting song that combines conflicting elements of mainstream accessibility (poppy vocals, obvious structure) with more distinctive, artistic touches (a weird water effect over the guitar, a weird intro handled by drums and vocals exclusively, and limited, forceful application of trumpet blasts as farty punctuation at the end of lines). As the album approaches its less exciting final section, where all the best ideas seem to have been used up, the only comparable offering is the frankly dull 'Pracuja,' which seems slotted in simply to break up the tedium with some upbeat energy. It doesn't really work, and the bizarre contrast between tangential instrumental sections and plodding, whispered verses are a little too distracting.
This leaves the songs that strive to be "something slightly different," predictably providing some of the album's most interesting and most disappointing tangents. The oddly titled 'Demo' is a prominent song for the trumpets, which work to bookend a main section of exhausting, almost disinterested spoken word vocals in the style of Mark E. Smith from The Fall, and which also overcomes the obstacle of overlong song duration present in some of the previous pieces. This vocal style re-emerges a little in the fun 'Szerzej,' though this far happier song is most notable for its trumpet-led chorus featuring the band shouting the title in unison. On a different wavelength entirely, 'Jeden czlowiek to jeden sens' is a semi-acoustic song that stands out nicely from the rest of the songs but doesn't do anything particularly noteworthy with itself, while the final, stylistically varied song has sections reminiscent of 80s TV show themes and Spanish chill-out music respectively, and as such avoids being my cup of tea.
Akurat's third album brings nothing new to the music world and takes permissible delight in its reproduction of the band's favourite sounds, most of which are combined skilfully and entertainingly. There's an obvious and disappointing drop in quality as the album enters its second half, and it loses points for failing to maintain interest throughout. This does at least mean that the earlier songs are mostly of a distinctly high quality, and that by being grouped together in this way, it's easy to listen to the best of the album without having to skip around all over the place; just hit the stop button after twenty minutes or so.
Advantages: Fun and skilfully executed modern ska tunes.
Disadvantages: Indecipherable lyrics (for non-Poles) and less imaginative reggae sections.
Al Azred
Symphony for a Psychosis
***
Written on 06.12.07
This freely available demo from French brutal death metal band Al Azred was released according to the Creative Commons license of non-commercial distribution, an effective and wise use of the internet to spread another random death metal demo that would otherwise go all but unheard (and still will, but to slightly lesser extent). Despite hailing from Grenoble, the band reproduce the characteristic American style of brutal death metal without any embellishment or alteration, the only real point of significance being the talented solos of lead guitarist Jerome that unapologetically dominate each of the six main tracks.
Brutal death metal, as its rather obstinate name suggests, is merely an exaggeration of Florida death metal that favours violently hammering percussion and, most distinctively, an even more extreme version of the death metal growling style that seems to move further down the throat into the vocalist's very guts, a rather nauseating gurgled croak specifically designed to weed out the faint-hearted and give an all-out performance to the masochists who remain. The most prominent proponents of the style were the defunct Demilich, but Cannibal Corpse have achieved greater success and publicity through their gimmicky use of over-the-top violent imagery in their controversial album cover art, song titles and lyrics. Al Azred's subject matter, while never actually audible through the digestive process being fed into the microphone, runs more along the traditional lines of death metal, taking an angry but heartfelt stance against perceived thought control and abuse of liberties, and mixing it up with a couple of tales of demonic possession, madness and the thirst for murder.
This demo album was recorded in the band's home studio, and the quality is very impressive for a self-funded release, easily comparable to properly financed studio albums but coming in a little too short to fool anyone at just under twenty minutes. The production tows a pleasing line between the high audibility needed to capture the intensity of the performance and the subtle bass range of the vocal growls, while retaining the raw, home-grown atmosphere of an independent release. While the aforementioned Jerome (surname unknown to me) is the undisputed star, the other two band members are also noteworthy: Erich Zann's vocals must take a lot of practice and endurance, even if they end up sounding like a less effective form of the same style being used by numerous other acts from the early nineties onwards, and his rhythm guitar can be heard as a distinct and supportive presence, though the same can't be said for his bass programming in substitution of the real thing. The drum kit is manned by a bloke calling himself Azazel, and he skilfully manages a fair range of styles and speeds from hammering blast beats to rounded double bass assaults and slower, more thought-out rhythms.
1. Horror Land
2. Annihilated Brain
3. B.L.O.O.D. (Beyond Life Origins of Death)
4. Devil's Wrath
5. Funeral March
6. Mental Ascetism
7. Suicide
8. 15 Minutes 21 Grams
After the insubstantial intro - an orgy of screams pitted against the jolly sound of a funfair, the instruments kick in and lead us straight into the promisingly titled 'Annihilated Brain.' While the first half of the song falls back on machine-gun-like rhythms a little too often, it adds enough changeable guitar riffs to keep things interesting before the real delights of Jerome's Eastern-tinged leads and solos in the second half. 'B.L.O.O.D.' is the highlight of the album in building upon the previous song and improving it substantially, throwing out enough great death metal leads to keep things from becoming dull and once again allowing the solos to dominate the proceedings towards the end as they will for the rest of the album, apart from the final outro piece. The majority of these songs follow a very similar sound, but there's still enough variety with the increased brutality of 'Mental Ascetism' and the obvious Slayer worship of the thrashy 'Funeral March' adding enough variety for death metal fans - anyone else who happens to overhear will assume it's just some form of violent, scary noise, and I suppose they're right to an extent.
While 'B.L.O.O.D.' represents the peak of the band's abilities and the penultimate 'Suicide' makes for a nice meeting of the (slightly) varied styles that have been demonstrated in the previous songs, this is still a distinctly average and uninspired collection of derivative brutal death metal aided to an enormous extent by the talents of a virtuoso guitarist, but of course it earns special lenience for being a self-produced demo, and further points for enthusiastically embracing a free distribution process. Al Azred isn't a name you're going to hear any more of, even if you keep up with the brutal death metal scene (as I know the majority of you do... yeah, right. I seriously wouldn't recommend doing so in any case, as it all sounds disappointingly samey and mediocre after Demilich). Still, metal fans in that region of France will probably get some enjoyable gigs out of this group, as soon as they replace their bass machine with a flesh and blood being.
They've been around since 2001 and after spending five years designing a complex logo, their first recording is a fairly impressive feat - just wait until the lead guitarist is plucked from the gutter and signed up to a really high quality outfit.
Advantages: Superb guitars, and good enough reproduction of the brutal death style.
Disadvantages: Lacks originality in pretending to be American.
Alabama Thunderpussy
Open Fire
****
Written on 08.12.07
This year's release from those southern-fried proponents of beer-chugging, bar-room-brawl metal Alabama Thunderpussy is probably the best they've ever done, emerging slightly higher in its repetitive, derivative, dead-horse sound than their earlier efforts that sounded pretty much the same. As mainstream metal divided in the early nineties, the absurdly overrated Pantera popularised their brand of angry and dirty Texan groove metal, essentially an off-shoot of eighties thrash that slowed things down and replaced its interesting guitars with some pinchy squeaks, and attracted a legion of loyal, obnoxious, angry fans as well as a crowd of imitators. While the best was Down, Pantera's own side-project-of-sorts, Virginia's Alabama Thunderpussy emerged as the best Pantera clone for ironing out that band's most irritating flaws. At least they have now, at what some may consider to be a decade or so too late.
The odd thing here is, Alabama Thunderpussy (although I'll be typing that a lot, I won't bother to abbreviate it, as I think it deserves to be read a few times) have advanced their sound somewhat on this most recent recording by heading even further back in the heavy metal timeline, incorporating a distinct flavour of the ever-popular Judas Priest in many of Erik Larson and Ryan Lake's guitar riffs and dominant lead harmonies, aided by the more traditional metal vocals of newcomer Kyle Thomas (ex-Exhorder). The heavy metal foundation, however old and derivative, makes this much more appealing to my tastes than the band's more hard-rock-oriented offerings, and even mellows the sound somewhat even when it's firmly in the Southern metal camp. Thomas' angry vocals fit predictably into that scene most of the time but are still among the best I've heard from this particular sub-genre, and unlike his contemporaries and predecessors, his softer style doesn't sound like a third rate country singer.
While Alabama Thunderpussy could never be described as a band concerned with participating in the evolution of music, and most of their songs do sound pretty much the same, I'm glad they've chosen a more pleasing pathfinder to follow here: even the silly album cover stinks of classic heavy metal cheese.
1. The Cleansing
2. Void of Harmony
3. Words of the Dying Man
4. The Beggar
5. None Shall Return
6. Whiskey War
7. A Dreamer's Fortune
8. Valor
9. Open Fire
10. Brave the Rain
11. Greed
'The Cleansing' is the perfect opening track, as it sets up the style that will dominate the next forty minutes while remaining distinctly average to keep listeners waiting for the better songs to follow. Thomas' vocals are very powerful here, even if his primary melody sounds exactly like Priest's 'Rapid Fire,' and the lyrics offer a great smorgasbord of assorted violent images to satisfy the palate, from bodies littering the shore to swimming with the hungry shark and the wrath of a woman scorned. It's all good stuff, and the guitars move from generic 70s Priest to generic 80s thrash, all processed through crystal clear modern production, with the first of many guitar solos is tagged on to the end more out of necessity than anything. This angry style continues through track three with more Priest riffs (circa 1981) and five (1978) before reaching its peak in 'Valor,' an excellent modern heavy metal song with a narrative of battle and excellent performances all-round, with plenty of lead guitar harmonies, a great slow-lo and drums that actually do something interesting for once, a style that thankfully permeates through the final tracks of the album. Ultimately, the song's nothing that every band wasn't doing in 1980, but it's a tasteful, competent and respectful repetition of the style.
Despite the possibility of each song sounding similar to the point of tedium for casual listeners, this album has quite a lot going for it, not only in terms of simple, catchy riffs that will stay in the listener's head. 'Void of Harmony' has some effective, non-gratuitous tempo shifts from its hard, thrashing beginning to slower chorus sections and even a soft respite, and Thomas shows the first signs of an ability to reach for the high notes, something that he teasingly refrains from doing for much of the album before letting out that heartfelt scream in 'Brave the Rain.' Things get very interesting and unexpected with 'The Beggar,' the most different-sounding song on here that follows an entirely melodic, grander and harmonious style that won't appeal to Pantera fans rating songs according to their ingenious analysis of the amount of 'balls' it possesses (this one is more or less spayed), but breaks things up perfectly without the need for an acoustic ballad. Acoustic ballads are still okay according to the balls system, apparently, but high electric guitars are for poofs. Let's not remind those people of Pantera's embarrassing glam rock career that the band would later do their best to cover up, holocaust-denial-style.
'Whiskey War' is a fun song; catchy, short and simple both musically and lyrically (as can be deduced from the title), but with a distinctly clichéd seventies rock solo and a lack of anything too special, it's no 'Ace of Spades.' Less impressive is its successor 'A Dreamer's Fortune,' which replicates the style of the great fourth track to some extent, but loses out due to unnecessary aggression and over-repetition to the point that the song might as well be looped for the second half. The promising title track is heavier and more demonic than the rest but similarly fails due to a lack of stand-out ideas, but 'Greed' makes for a great finale. What could easily have been a randomly chosen song to go out on, this is pleasingly self-conscious of its climactic responsibility, and proceeds from a mournful lead guitar overture to a catchy distorted riff, keeping an ominous tone throughout the whole performance - although this is something achieved literally by the guitars, rather than a perceived atmosphere.
'Open Fire' is an entirely non-essential album, but one that will certainly please fans of American metal following a more traditional and superior style. It doesn't sound much like Pantera at all, thank god, but for those concerned about the album cover, it sounds like Manowar even less.
Advantages: Good incorporation of classic metal style, with great guitars and improved vocals.
Disadvantages: Too content to be nothing new.
****
Written on 10.12.07
"Since the comprehension of sweet sound is our most indefinite conception, music, when combined with a pleasurable idea, is poetry. Music without the idea is simply music. Without music or an intriguing idea, colour becomes pallor, man becomes carcass, home becomes catacomb, and the dead are but for a moment motionless."
Thus quoth Edgar Allen Poe in a passage narrated from beyond the grave by the late Orson Welles for the CD remaster of the Alan Parsons Project's first ambitious concept album, a progressive rock rendition of Poe's writings. The Project was a joint operation between acclaimed music producer Alan Parsons (responsible in no small part for the success of Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon,' one of the greatest albums ever recorded) and musician Eric Woolfson, drafting in a variety of singers and musicians to produce this exquisite audio fancy.
Taking note of Hollywood's increased focus and freedom granted to film directors such as Hitchcock, Parsons believed that his skills and experience as a music producer could be implemented into a recording of his own. His flair can indeed be seen throughout this recording, which places neatly trimmed, catchy, radio-friendly songs against more ambitious instrumentals for the discerning music fan, while the whole thing is saturated with layers of sound that tow an interesting line between subtlety and a desire to draw attention to themselves to show just how clever Parsons can be. It's a risky endeavour that could easily have failed disastrously, but careful and talented execution succeeded in granting the Alan Parsons Project its first considerable success, both financially and critically. Of course, it's still rife with problems.
The major criticism seems to be the album's failure to live up to its source material, especially in terms of mood. Woolfson had conceived of a Poe concept album several years previously and it was presumably natural to use this as the inspiration for the Project's first project, but the predominantly upbeat, mellow , soft rock direction it ended up following really doesn't lend itself that well to evoking a terrifying atmosphere. The only times the music approaches the mood of a classic gothic horror are in contrived 'creepy' organ passages and redundant sound effects, though the instrumentals fare better on the whole, especially with Welles' deep narrative piercing into the listener's soul. Welles' contributions were evidently absent from the original album due to some problem, dispute or other, but were thankfully restored for the CD release eleven years later (some years after Welles' death), which saw Parsons return to the original masters and re-master the whole thing completely. Whether this was for purely aesthetic reasons or George Lucas style revision of history, this is the version of the album we have today.
1. A Dream Within a Dream
2. The Raven
3. The Tell-Tale Heart
4. The Cask of Amontillado
5. (The System Of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether
6. The Fall of the House of Usher: Prelude
7. The Fall of the House of Usher: Arrival
8. The Fall of the House of Usher: Intermezzo
9. The Fall of the House of Usher: Pavane
10. The Fall of the House of Usher: Fall
11. To One in Paradise
It's always great to see songwriters tackling the literary classics, whether they succeed or fail embarrassingly, and this isn't exactly one of the most enlightening. Poe's stories provide a mere foundation for the Project's often contradictory musical embellishment, particularly in the shorter songs of the first half of the album before the listener is engulfed by the traditional over-ambitious prog 'epic' that dominates the second. The first track is probably my favourite of the lot, beginning with Welles' immortal narration soon joined by a softly sweeping orchestra and tinkling piano, before launching into a great instrumental opening. A variety of instruments are used, moving from soft, Oriental-sounding wind instruments to a more typical seventies synthesiser once the song falls into a rhythm. Despite the complexity of its arrangement and layering, the actual melodies themselves are all kept very simple and easy to follow, and it's clear that Parsons learned a thing or two from working with Pink Floyd: the guitars (provided by numerous musicians across the recording) often lapse into the reclining, dreamy wails of 'Dark Side of the Moon,' particularly and most relevantly here. In less competent and experienced hands, this opening could have been an overlong and jarring composition, but Parsons edits it to perfection.
It's at this point however that the album starts to slip, at least from a critical point of view. The remaining songs of the first half are all kept catchy and melodious, but rely too greatly on repetition and hooks to be comparable to more interesting prog bands of the time. 'The Raven' is the first vocal song and the only one sung by Parsons himself, albeit distorted through the ever-popular vocoder most of the time. I would have suggested that this rather gimmicky device (also featured prominently in Pink Floyd's 'Animals' album) dates this album badly, until I remembered groups such as Daft Punk that continue to rely on its wizardry to convince listeners that they are, in fact, robots. So maybe this was merely ahead of its time. The main rhythm is simplistic and memorable once again, even if the plodding percussion is entirely devoid of interest, and even irritated fans of 'real' music will likely appreciate the buried symphony. Unfortunately, this song relies on the same quiet/loud structural limitations that would affect Pink Floyd hereafter.
'The Tell-Tale Heart' retrieves some of the album's avant-garde credibility through its memorable vocal performance from the legendary Arthur "God of Hellfire" Brown, putting in the most enthusiastic and manic singing of the album, even in the bits in-between the desperate verses where he should technically keep his mouth closed. This is a more guitar-oriented song and as such a little less demanding, but once again a softer instrumental section keeps things in check. 'The Cask of Amontillado' deviates even further by throwing out a mellow pop song of sorts, saved only by a cool horn section towards the end but is otherwise a fairly derivative and bland duet between John Miles in a mid-range mellow voice and John Miles in a Beatles-style high voice. Miles remains for the final song of the first half, the fun, slightly daft and surprisingly complex '(The System Of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether,' which was also released as a fairly successful single. The guitar is the dominant instrument once again, but vocals are presented in a variety of styles and ranges, before the finale expands to incorporate themes and melodies from all of the previous songs in turn. It's the sort of thing Parsons used to do with Pink Floyd, but made a little more obvious to encourage listeners to spot it.
The second half of the album (side B on the original vinyl) is dominated by the Project's instrumental take on 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' which ends up sounding not so much like a long and satisfying epic as a slightly boring mismatch of styles that takes a long time to stop ripping off Debussy and showing off with sound effects before getting into something really good in time for the final sections. Enjoying the liberties of the shiny new CD format, Parsons' remaster joins this tracks seamlessly with its predecessor and adds further narration from Orson Welles, before the orchestra is given five or six minutes to play pieces from Debussy's operatic take of the same Poe story. This is a shame really, as the basic replication means sitting through a lengthy, unaltered, un-ambitious prelude before the 'real' song begins.
This song comes into its own once the lead keyboard, wailing Floydian guitars, plodding drums and prominent, clunking bass are permitted to play it solo, abandoning the excesses of the studio and returning to a more straightforward style of rock instrumental that's far more satisfying, with some effective call-backs to the melody of the opening song that create a nice sense of continuity while also meaning they could get away with not having to come up with another pretty keyboard piece. It's no epic, and the ominous thrum that dominates the final section sounds like it's lifted straight from Floyd's 'Obscured By Clouds.' After it's done, The Hollies' Terry Sylvester sings a boring soft song that fills in as the necessary afterglow apparently desired by the record buying public, in the guise of an adaptation of 'To One in Paradise.' It's an unsatisfying finale, but one you can easily nod off to sleep through.
This is an album I've long had an unreasonable and probably exaggerated fondness for, and the only Alan Parsons Project release I can listen to as entertainment rather than sedative. It almost completely fails to capture the tone and atmosphere of its subject matter, only succeeding when actual extracts are read by Orson Welles, which would always be a dead cert (and one step away from Vincent Price). Half of the songs are short and accessible enough for anyone to listen to, and the other half is aimed more towards dedicated prog fans: only the opening instrumental 'Dream Within a Dream' bridges the two contradictory styles, and thus sets things up to be a little better than they actually are. It's a testament to his skills that Parsons didn't fall into the predictable trap of favouring production quality over actual content (well, not much anyway), and the Project concerned itself with producing an album of genuine quality. It's quite good, but it isn't scary.
Advantages: A varied and well-produced concept album.
Disadvantages: Fails to capture the spirit of Poe's works
Alas
Absolute Purity
You Pitiful Pions
**
Written on 11.12.07
Alas, here we have another death metal guitarist setting up a side project to extend his repertoire, when he should have stuck to his day job. And being guitarist for Hate Eternal, after spending considerable time with Morbid Angel, is pretty cool as far as day jobs go.
Alas is Erik Rutan's one-off (so far) operatic progressive metal project, which essentially means slowed-down melodic death metal riffs over stilted drums, with a shrieking woman placed on top. These projects can sometimes work very well, as was the case for Cynic spin-off Aghora, but here it falls rather flat, and becomes increasingly tedious as the album plods along. Rutan's riffs and solos demonstrate his obvious talent, but all sound like completely generic melodeath played at an insultingly pedestrian pace, leaving Howard Davis (of Lover of Sin) to provide some creativity with the drums that hold up remarkably well considering the limitations imposed on heaviness and power.
Just as every growling death metal bloke sounds indistinguishable from the rest, tenor Martina Astner sounds pretty much exactly the same as the other women alternating between soft singing and bombastic opera wails in gothic metal bands around the world, but her background with Sweden's opera metal godfathers Therion at least proves she's one of the more competent, only becoming too piercing and deplorable in select songs. One problem that she isn't necessarily accountable for are the absolutely abominable lyrics, littered with the worst, most basic and desperate rhymes and the most simplistic emotional subject matter extrapolated from each song title ("Come enter my realm of emotion ... Come swim in my rumbling ocean").
1. Absolute Purity
2. The Enchanted
3. Endlessly Searching
4. Silencing the Sorrow
5. Loss of a Life
6. Tragedies
7. Quest for Serenity
8. Rejection of What You Perceive
9. Surmounting the Masses
10. Longing for Destiny
Disappointingly, and surprisingly considering the album's apparent "progressive" intentions, the majority of these songs sound more or less the same, with only a couple of distinguishing touches such as a change in vocal style or the use of double bass drumming to set them apart. None stand out as particularly great, with only tracks four, six and seven earning a place very slight above average. Among the least successful tracks are those that make the castrated death metal sound all too obvious ('Loss of a Life,' 'Rejection of What You Perceive'), with Rutan's melodeath riffs and Davis' restrained drums struggling to hold themselves back from the sort of thrashing, hammering sounds they are more accustomed to producing, and sounding half-hearted as a result in this unanimously mid-tempo recording.
Martina Astner's operatic wails help to make this more of a love-it-or-hate-it album, but the later success of bands such as Finland's Nightwish have helped to make the idea more accessible, while consequently more tired and less inventive. Astner's voice works well through most of the album, particularly on the early songs that see her experiment with an even distribution of traditional singing and opera in the title track, before largely abandoning opera in the second and trying out an Eastern singing style in the third, and then realising her first idea was the best after all by the quite good 'Silencing the Sorrow.' The only times her voice really lets the recording down are in the slightly annoying fifth track, and the piercing 'Surmounting the Masses,' her swan song that comes off sounding like a dying swan in a more gritty, realistic way than Tchaikovsky envisaged. Although the closing instrumental is disappointing at best, offering four minutes for the guitarist to show off his talents with something a little different that he manages to mess up completely, it's nice that the vocals were allowed to go home early.
For the most part, the instruments work well together and never try to show off at the expense of the music, something that's always a danger with a side-project like this, but they also fail to come up with anything truly original that hasn't been done before, and would go on to be reproduced many times after. Keyboards are used sparingly to add a nice, more epic atmosphere that works most effectively in 'Quest for Serenity,' and Rutan's wealth of experience lets him know when to quieten down and let the drums, bass guitar and vocals carry verses along, making his eventual return with energetic riffs and solos all the more effective. It's still clear however that he's used to the style of death metal, where deliberately slowing the pace can make a chorus all the more hard-hitting and enjoyable, but applying such techniques here in songs like 'The Enchanted' really doesn't have the same effect, and only makes the song seem more dull and lethargic. Davis' drums come across the same problem as they attempt to introduce faster and more dynamic elements that only become lost behind the mediocre, middling pace.
'Absolute Purity' is essentially a disappointment from one of the more creative and talented figures still operating in the classic death metal scene. This clearly has an intended appeal to fans of Tampa Bay death metal as much as European gothic metal, but diluted in this manner it ends up sounding like the weakest melodic death metal band with a girl added for appeal to female fans and the sort of adolescent boys who continue to find the introduction of oestrogen into manly heavy metal a truly orgasmic and surprising idea, and one that at least allows them to justify their sexual orientation in spite the bare-chested, hairy guys plastered over their walls.
Advantages: Erik Rutan's guitars and Howard Davis' drums are mostly quite good.
Disadvantages: Weak.
The Album Leaf
The Enchanted Hill
The Green Tour E.P.
***
Written on 13.12.07
This latest self-produced E.P. from Jimmy LaValle's increasingly successful music project The Album Leaf continues in the wistfully melancholic, instrumental post-rock style of its full-length predecessor 'Into the Blue Again,' and is distributed exclusively at live shows, where LaValle replaces his multi-talented studio virtuosity with a full live band. 'The Green Tour E.P.,' or 'The Enchanted Hill' as it is alternately known, is a high quality collection of six similar instrumental pieces to accompany a mood or mental landscape of your choosing.
The Album Leaf is now LaValle's main project, and due to its purported suitability to television and advertisement soundtracks, particularly stuff like 'The O.C.,' also the most profitable. LaValle began as the guitarist for Tristeza, balancing out his commitments on various instruments for various other San Diego bands, and his perseverance with this solo project has allowed him to increasingly adapt and improve his home studio to the benefit of his recordings. The Album Leaf is predominantly post-rock ambience in the style of many bands today, but with a lighter, less apocalyptic and bipolar style than genre pioneers Mogwai, making it both more accessible and disappointing. For this E.P., LaValle's most recent output, pleasant piano melodies are accompanied by sweeping keyboards above a restless, slightly manic bassline, the sound never becoming too domineering or atmospheric but lying somewhere in-between.
1. We Need Help
2. Fear of Flying
3. Drawing Mountains
4. Enchanted Hill
5. Kevlar
6. San Simeon
The style of all six songs is fairly similar, but there are differences between most of them (excluding perhaps the final track) that demonstrate LaValle's skill and comparative variety. 'We Need Help' is the first and probably the best, beginning with a lonely piano before introducing the odd mix of clicking and whirring electronic percussion with eloquent synthesised orchestration and a melodic guitar. After this point the album becomes less enticing and more tedious with each offering until 'Enchanted Hill,' where an ominous keyboard blares out of the bland soundscape with its disturbing, unintelligible but doubtless vital message, more reminiscent of post-rock and post-metal as well as Vangelis' synthesised dystopia for the 'Blade Runner' soundtrack.
'Fear of Flying' and 'Drawing Mountains' are both slow, plodding affairs even compared to the rest of this mini-album, the former based on a painfully slow piano melody that can only be accentuated by the other instruments coming in rather than improved, and the latter song opting to do something similar with an acoustic guitar, played satisfyingly raw without hiding any of the squeaks and scrapes of the strings but still based on the same style and background rhythm as the rest of the music. 'Kevlar' is something of a surprise at least, though not in a completely positive sense, as its core melody is an uncharacteristically light-hearted, even frivolous keyboard ditty reminiscent of Kraftwerk or Jean-Michel Jarre, over which a few too many instruments are layered (including what seems to be a particularly irritating synthesised accordion) to the point of cacophony. 'San Simeon' responds by returning to the more successful style of the first song, replicating it almost exactly but at a slightly faster tempo.
The Album Leaf is an interesting project, but pales in comparison to the more creative and emotive post-rock bands out there in a consistently popular genre. While this is at least light and bland enough to remain accessible to the mainstream, its suitability as a form of contemporary lift music makes it less riveting or insightful to listen to, especially when failing to deviate much from a core template. I haven't heard the Album Leaf's earlier, longer works, but I'd assume that this short, hastily-produced E.P. isn't indicative of the highly proficient Jimmy LaValle at his peak.
Advantages: More pleasant post-rock soundscapes.
Disadvantages: Becomes fairly dull and repetitive, and lacks in emotion.
Alcatrazz
Disturbing the Peace
**
Written on 15.12.07
After the departure of guitar virtuoso / unpronounceable show-off Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Alcatrazz filled the space with rising star Steve Vai for one album only, before he went on to better (and in some cases, surprisingly worse) things. On the surface, Alcatrazz seemed like any other Los Angeles heavy metal band of the mid-80s, capitalising on the success of the region's unaffectionately termed "hair metal" before promptly disappearing as soon as everyone took a second out from partying and biking hard and realised how ridiculous the whole thing was, and that they would much rather move to Seattle and listen to depressed people in jumpers singing about how rubbish it all is. That's how it seemed on the surface, but digging deeper you realise something shocking; there is nothing down there.
This band's only claim to superiority over the hordes of local imitators - many that were more successful, others less so - was being blessed with supreme guitar talent, first with Malmsteen and here with Vai, but as was so remarkably demonstrated by the outrageously godawful Nitro, it's not enough to possess the most technically proficient guitarist in the world if his creative horizons only go as far as providing riffs and overcomplicated solos from an X-shaped guitar to songs about girls and Budweiser. Thankfully, the music of Alcatrazz is grounded a little more in reality than Nitro's, and Vai and his bandmates concentrate on delivering simple, catchy rock tunes to their easily satisfied audience.
The lyrical subject matter is as predictable as the music, only veering outside of the rock and roll lifestyle for a failed attempt at a historical epic in the style of bands like Iron Maiden. The band is most comfortable and successful when treading the Motörhead territory of sex and booze, but attempts at a more emotional connection mainly fail due to the difficulty of taking this music and image seriously. 'Will You Be Home Tonight' is the longest and slowest song, a story of a young man who lives for his bike that is rooted in a disappointingly parental message of road safety awareness - this isn't the sort of escapism I look for in stupid hair metal, making straightforward songs like 'Stripper' far more appealing. Vocals are handled reasonably well by Graham Bonnet, who mostly impresses with his dedication above and beyond in the first song, but all too soon falls back on the clichés of the high-pitched hair metal yell, and alternating between an unconvincing gruff vocal style in the more ballsy songs and an equally unconvincing mournful tone in those approaching ballads.
1. God Blessed Video
2. Mercy
3. Will You Be Home Tonight
4. Wire and Wood
5. Desert Diamond
6. Stripper
7. Painted Lover
8. Lighter Shade of Green
9. Sons and Lovers
10. Skyfire
11. Breaking the Heart of the City
As yet another hair metal / 80s hard rock album among many, the finest accolade these songs can achieve is to be distinctly average, while the worst are merely indistinctly poor, but at least aren't completely awful. Vai gets a brief guitar solo track for the pointlessly titled 'Lighter Shade of Green' that only sees him twiddle around a bit and is a poor competitor to Van Halen's definitive 'Eruption,' and his contributions to the rest of the album are mostly restrained to the point that he might as well be anyone.
The stand-out tracks are fun opener 'God Blessed Video,' a tirade against big-selling sell-out bands recording extravagant music videos which "crotch shots for twelve-year-old hopefuls" that I still can't help feeling is motivated more out of jealousy than anything else, and 'Wire and Wood' that manages to sound sufficiently angry and energetic for a change. The aforementioned 'Stripper' is another cool one, but spoiled by distracting keyboard tinges that are far more prominent in the weaker songs (uncoincidentally), and collapses into a bizarre, unintentional self-parody at the end when Bonnet's heartfelt response to the eponymous stripper's dialogue seems to immediately jump from fear to lust ("take your clothes off, babbay!" God).
The rest of the album falls below the line of good taste (well, further below), and offers nothing that can't be heard elsewhere in forms exactly the same or superior. 'Mercy' is inoffensive aside from the vocals, but too dull and plodding to stand out, and the not-at-all-epic 'Desert Diamond' is even more tedious and repetitive, despite an admirable but failed attempt to create a bombastic chorus by placing high wails against low murmurs. 'Will You Be Home Tonight' threatens to be a power ballad before launching into something equally unadventurous and oozing with bad 80s pop rock keyboards from Jimmy Waldo, and this is also the case for 'Skyfire.' 'Painted Lover' and 'Sons and Lovers' are both fairly standard but uninspired and thus pointless hard rock songs, though the second is pleasant enough in a commercial sort of way, while the finale goes for a strange, National Anthemic style in comparing Britain to the United States. It also features more rubbish keyboards.
Long believed deceased, Alcatrazz has apparently been reincarnated in two conflicting forms by former members this year, creating a legal feud over which group should be permitted to continue this brand of tedious, outdated glam metal that should never have been permitted to exist in the first place. The band was never one of the worst offenders by any means, remaining fairly low profile and promoting some genuine musical talent before each guitarists sodded off in due course, but 'Disturbing the Peace' is a below average release of 80s rock / metal, which disappoints even in terms of the band's attitude. While their contemporaries were being arrested for sexual assault and drug abuse, the most depraved that Alcatrazz could manage was to contemplate the possibility of annoying their neighbours by playing music slightly too loud in the early evening.
Advantages: Something for Steve Vai completists.
Disadvantages: Pointlessly below average hair metal.
Alcest
Le Secret
Welcome to Fairy Land
****
Written on 16.12.07
Alcest has certainly been one of the most significant and talked-about extreme metal acts of 2007, surprisingly for being so non-extreme. Neige's nostalgic one-man project finally released its first full-length 'Souvenirs d'un autre monde' in August to an overwhelmingly positive response, mainly from those who had downloaded the leak months earlier, completing the transition from a minimalist black metal band with a rubbish demo into a soaring, escapist, optimistic blending of French black metal and British shoegaze that leans significantly towards the latter and is hardly recognisable as metal at all. While it's certainly distinctive, I found the deviation away from Neige's roots a little too extreme for my more extreme tastes, and fortunately this earlier E.P. from 2005 helps to bridge the divide while also highlighting how it could never really work in a sustained way.
Abandoning the band mates from the band's earliest incarnation, Neige handles all vocal and instrumental duties on 'Le Secret' and his work thereafter, and commendably only falls back on samples and extraneous instruments on rare occasions, creating his soundscapes with the traditional guitar, bass, drums and voice. The vocals are an interesting feature, as the first song is entirely sung in a dreamy manner that many have strangely mistaken to be a female guest singer, while the second returns to the screeching black metal growls for one last time before they vanished completely for the subsequent album. The contrast is enjoyable, and makes both songs stand apart even further despite their obvious similarities, the latter generally taking on a more traditional black metal style shifted into major keys and with a large sprinkling of fairy dust.
Alcest's lyrics, all written in French (and in the case of the second song, taken entirely from a poem by Charles Baudelaire), are aimed at evoking the atmosphere and mood of Neige's childhood fantasy realm the "fairy land" to which we are all invited as a temporary escape from harsh Avignon reality, an image that the album's old-style photos of children and samples of chirruping birds and a babbling stream at the start of the recording help to put in place before the music pulls the listener in completely. This idea is nothing new in black metal, though it has always been more customary for hypnotic music like this to have a far more sinister edge, as is the case with Burzum. For extreme metal virgins, it may be hard to reconcile the emotive screams of the second track with an idyllic mood, but you wouldn't be alone; while this is a successful experiment in pushing and merging genres for the most part, this recording makes it clear that one of the styles must go, and that turned out to be the conflicting black metal. Just don't tell the metal guys that.
1. Le Secret
2. Élévation
The title track is the slightly longer of the two at fifteen minutes, but both songs show signs of being edited to the perfect length to make sure listeners are satiated, or perhaps even eager for more, without becoming bored by the repetitiveness of the whole thing. After the nature sounds and a minimalist acoustic introduction to welcome the dawn, the music launches into a distinctly post-rock direction before finding its true calling into overly distorted wall-of-sound in the shoegazing tradition exemplified by My Bloody Valentine, a band Neige claims never to have heard - if he had, this whole thing might have happened a fair few years earlier. The drums seem a little contradictory at first, proceeding to blast along in a slow determination to provide a black metal foundation, but like the ethereal vocals that finally creep in almost half-way into the song, they assimilate into the soundscape once it becomes entrancing and all-encompassing. The song deteriorates for me towards the end, with an unnecessary and distracting shift into a more poppy, indie rock style of drumming and an unsatisfying call-back to the opening acoustics, but this can all be forgiven as a feature of what is essentially a highly experimental E.P. testing new ground.
'Élévation,' based on Baudelaire's poem of the same name, is more of a song for black metal traditionalists, and offers a glimpse (or a little more, at thirteen minutes in length) of the direction Neige could have pursued before deciding to abandon black metal. It's similar to the first song with its fuzzy wall of sound and generally uplifting tone, but everything is shifted into a more distorted black metal world that occasionally contradicts the dreamy woodland atmosphere, particularly in terms of the vocals. The opening keyboard section is long and hypnotic and is a perfect example of how Neige's intentions contrast with Burzum's in similar passages, and once again it takes three minutes for the song to properly get going. The drums are a little harder and faster, the tremolo-picking rhythm guitars roaring away with some really pleasant lead melodies overlaid, and even the eventual arrival of the vocals keeps things running smoothly until Neige decides to mess things around a little and interrupt the delightful flow with an irrelevant and short acoustic section that sticks out like an unwanted comma in a lovely long sentence. The latter half is superior on the whole, with a great guitar solo that I really wish had lasted longer, and the song draws to a close at almost exactly the right time.
'Le Secret' is an insightful glimpse into Neige's attempt to combine the somewhat irreconcilable black metal and shoegazing genres, and the perfect companion piece to the recent album. Released on Drakkar, Neige now has a five album contract with Prophecy Productions that will hopefully see Alcest's style continue to evolve in the coming years rather than fall back on this nostalgic style too often. This E.P. is an interesting experiment, and one that works surprisingly well despite the inherent drawbacks.
Advantages: Innovative merging of black metal and indie shoegazing that works better than expected.
Disadvantages: Lacking in variety, and often self-contradictory.
Alchemist
Organasm
****
Written on 13.12.07
Alchemist are one of the very few prominent metal bands from Australia, and their magnum opus 'Organasm' (do you see what they did there?) seems to be unanimously praised as a more than worthy competitor for the big-selling American progressive metal acts that would easily be as successful as Tool if only they hadn't had the rotten luck to live Down Under, where the music scene is rather embarrassingly bad. While there's certainly truth in that claim, it's a little easy to back them as a unique and mysterious band due to their exotic flavour, when in fact their "distinctive" sound is more or less American in origin.
Fortunately, this album in particular shows the band's penchant for innovation, making effective use of spacey synthesisers, Eastern musical themes and tribal-tinged percussion to tell their thought-provoking tales of cataclysm against a backdrop that others have aptly described as the emptiness, desolation and beauty of the Australian outback. There's even a didgeridoo in the first song, just to keep up appearances, but I wouldn't go classing this as Rolf Metal just yet.
Incorporating synthesisers into their sound adds a certain epic elements to these compositions, something that is aided by the other instruments in the more relevant songs dealing with humanity's self-destructive tendencies, particularly the 'Evolution Trilogy' of tracks two to four. The Alchemist sound is distinctive and easily recognisable, with Adam Agius and Roy Torkington's guitars taking on a distinctly Middle Eastern flavour in many of their lead passages that only rarely veer into clichéd Egyptian territory, and Rodney Holder's excellent drums that incorporate tribal rhythms and variations throughout the recording in a way that never sounds forced, as it does in some Brazilian bands. John Bray's bass guitar is an important instrument that isn't overlooked or shifted into the background like that of most metal bands, even providing the lead riffs and melodies on occasion and enhancing the depth of the sound immensely, and the keyboards provided cooperatively by Bray and Agius (who is also the singer) hark back to the best of seventies space-themed progressive rock without the cheesiness that often comes with the territory.
Agius' vocals are really the only element that doesn't entirely fit and may take some getting used to, often becoming overly hostile in a shouting manner similar to Acid Bath or Fear Factory and then sounding a little hoarse in the calmer sections, but most of the vocal melodies are creative and memorable without veering into distracting pop choruses that would spoil the mood entirely - and if there's one thing this band does well, it's atmosphere. Rooted in a scientific observation of humanity's "evolution" into a warring, tribal species intent on annihilation that's all the more disturbing for its verifiable accuracy, the darker songs on this recording communicate apocalypse with all the crushing, crestfallen intensity of post-rock bands, but are made far more interesting to listen to. Each song takes roughly five minutes to engulf the listener in a soundscape of fear, depression, surreality and science fiction before disgorging them to carry on with their meaningless lives, injected with an unshakeable new sense of insignificance and guilt on behalf of the human race. Or something like that, you get the idea.
1. Austral Spectrum
2. The Bio Approach
3. Rampant Micro Life
4. Warring Tribes - Eventual Demise
5. Single Sided
6. Surreality
7. New Beginning
8. Tide In, Mind Out
9. Eclectic
10. Escape from the Black Hole
The first song is possibly the most effective of the lot, opening with the infamous didgeridoo amidst a variety of natural instruments that are often difficult to distinguish or discern from the atmospheric keyboards. This opener demonstrates all of the band's strengths and signature traits, and winds slowly from pleasant, almost ambient passages to intense guitar-led sections that bear a passing resemblance to Gustav Holst's oft-quoted 'Mars, the Bringer of War.' It's here that the Evolution Trilogy kicks in, taking the listener on an epic fifteen-minute journey across the lifespan of the Earth in a style reminiscent of Ayreon without the glam. These three tracks flow together seamlessly, the only tell-tale indications of change being a resurgence in the lead drums and keyboards that become increasingly prominent as the suite progresses, the latter providing insight into why the band covered Jeff Wayne's 'The Eve of the War' a couple of years previously.
It's an accomplished work on the whole, even if it fades a little towards the end, and sees the album at its most dynamic as well as its most thoughtful and harmonious, even throwing in a David Gilmour style guitar solo for good measure. The only real let-down is Agius' tendency to shout too aggressively, however significant the subject matter may be, and this distraction keeps this a few notches away from perfection. Early points see the singer adopting a soft, gruff style similar to Swedish Viking metal, so it's a shame he didn't flex his vocal range more in these songs as he would in later, less significant songs. The finale 'Warring Tribes - Eventual Demise' also loses out for becoming too contradictory, beginning as an accessible rock song with a catchy riff and proceeding to shift restlessly between time signatures and moods in a manner not entirely relevant to the lyrics.
The album tends to become a bit more predictable and repetitive after this point, making it harder to recall particular favourites. The epic style remains along with the bipolar moods, occasionally to the point that I wished the band had concentrated on making particular songs stand out for being calmer or angrier than the rest rather than mixing them into the same emotive broth each time. 'Single Sided' has some great lead guitars and introduces Agius' ability to really screeeeeeam, which passes over into 'Surreality' in a nice touch of continuity that perhaps provides an insight into the recording process. This song in particular is a little too hostile in a groove metal style for my tastes, and its successor 'New Beginning' is a lot more successful in conveying the same feelings from a more effective musical backdrop, with energy and catchiness that wouldn't be out of place in a rock club (though the synthesiser overload at the end might confuse people in such an environment).
The final section of the album is something of a return to form, 'Tide In, Mind Out' acting as a condensed overview of the album with limited vocals before the less eclectic 'Eclectic' offers up a pure instrumental. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a wasted opportunity, the sort of low-key instrumental that replaces the vocal melodies with some half-hearted guitar leads and keyboards but that could easily have a shouting Aussie overlaid if the band had found the right lyrics. 'Escape from the Black Hole,' again threatening to leap into Ayreon dimensions but remaining grounded in sober reality (it would have been fun), repeats the apocalyptic post-rock-with-interesting-bits style of the first track to less effect, but is notable for Agius' duet with himself in contrasting crooning and yelled styles.
While Alchemist may not have succeeded in inciting an Australian wave of heavy metal, despite their best efforts (particularly in organising Australia's biggest metal festival 'Metal for the Brain' each year), superb albums like 'Organasm' are at least a starting point for the apologies owed by the nation for the Bee Gees, Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton-John, Jason Donovan and Puppetry of the Penis. The album's forebodings of humanity's self-destructive path have unfortunately come a little late to save us now, and may be particularly pertinent when there's a big crack in the ozone layer working its way up from Antarctica to get you.
Advantages: Innovative Australian prog metal.
Disadvantages: Disappointingly repetitive and American.
Alestorm
Captain Morgan's Revenge
Hail to the Power of Ale!
*****
Written on 17.12.07
Having built up a predictable cult following for their self-styled brand of "true Scottish pirate metal" at numerous local gigs and across two impressive E.P.s, Perth's Battleheart changed their name to the more tell-tale Alestorm and recorded their first full-length album on Napalm Records. The notion of mixing speedy, raucous power metal with a pirate concept is nothing new, harking right back to Germany's Running Wild in the late eighties, but it's a particularly intelligent commercial endeavour in a decade that has seen trashy Hollywood blockbuster 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and its ilk capturing the hearts of this generation's lowest common denominator audiences with their superficial take on piracy. Personally, I preferred the 'Monkey Island' games.
What makes Alestorm so impressive is that the band has never allowed the gimmick to overshadow the quality of its music, putting their full energy into Dragonforce-styled power metal, albeit yelling tales of seafaring conquest and trezer huntin' rather than falsetto epics about dragons, and even going the whole hog into authentically recreating the sea shanty for the less serious numbers. Having finally come together as a fully operational unit after a couple of years of vocalist/keyboardist Christopher Bowes and guitarist Gavin Harper playing against a programmed rhythm and bass section, the band compensates for its lack of virtuoso talent with its passionate, nationalistic dedication to spreading the true Scottish pirate metal Word that will inevitably inspire a number of lousy imitations in its devastating wake. With cutthroats Dani Evans and Ian Wilson coming aboard to handle bass and drum responsibilities respectively, the Alestorm vessel is in a fine position to conquer the metal world once this debut is released next month - most likely in a Dragonforce manner that will see them overly hyped and derided in equal measure before making way for the next fad. Young metal fans are so fickle.
As anticipated, the band selects the finest bounty from their earlier E.P. releases (alright, I'll desist with the pirate lingo) and makes these the foundation of this longer work, while surprisingly forsaking the customary instrumental openings in favour of a more consistent metallic approach, something that demonstrates their impressive forward-thinking compared to fading genre superstars such as Rhapsody of Fire and Manowar, whose most recent offerings were atrociously pompous affairs riddled with narrative padding. The pirating concept figures prominently into all of these songs as can be discerned from the titles, but despite going for the obvious themes (maps, battles, wenches, trezer), it never feels like a diluted pantomime version of piracy, and it's clear the band has done its research to add authenticity.
Bowes' vocals take on a distinct piratey persona, growling in a gritty folk style on the slower and mid-range songs but being forced into a more traditional metal style in the faster offerings later in the album, reminiscent of Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, and the lyrics will stay with the listener afterwards just as much as the catchiest guitar moments. Each major song is afforded an extensive instrumental section for solos and such, which is actually something of a mixed bag (of pieces o' eight?): Harper's guitars are pleasant enough in their classic metal approach, but Bowes sticks to his cannons with consistent keyboard solos in the glitzy style of Dragonforce that serve to spoil the historical, nautical mood that the band has somehow achieved through anachronistic rock instruments.
There is a distinctive Alestorm "sound" to be found across this album, despite its commendable diversity, and while rooted in modern power metal it borrows extensively from folk metal in the style of label-mates Týr and the Swedish Viking bands such as Månegarm. While it doesn't take on this style as much as I would perhaps like, this at least allows it to develop independently as a distinct entity, and may one day lead to a gloriously debauched battle between the heavy metal pirates and Vikings, one that the fantasy-themed bands can observe from the safe distance of an overhead dragon and write an epic poem about at a later date. Despite its distracting prominence in the solo sections, Bowes' keyboard is the vital background ingredient of this atmosphere, sweeping in a synthesised symphony over the more eloquent passages but mostly taking on the sound of a nautical accordion that works perfectly against the rock instruments even more successfully than I could have hoped, benefitting from the band's newfound high production values.
1. Over the Seas
2. Captain Morgan's Revenge
3. The Huntmaster
4. Nancy the Tavern Wench
5. Death Before the Mast
6. Terror of the High Seas
7. Set Sail and Conquer
8. Of Treasure
9. Wenches & Mead
10. Flower of Scotland
'Over the Seas' really is the perfect introduction to both the sound and concept, and along with 'The Huntmaster' represents the oldest material here, originating on the first 'Battleheart' E.P., but now with added live bass and drums. With middling speed and a chugging style still rooted in their forebears Running Wild, these two songs betray their early conception compared to the rest, but this makes them more suitable to establish the scene that will later be exploded to new heights. Doubtless some listeners will come to this album purely for the cheap thrill of hearing some pirate songs, and with refrains like "with the power of ale, he could not fail," these songs can satiate and inaugurate the casual listeners before unleashing some true metal fury.
In-between these older offerings is the first brand new song in the form of the title track (the title itself is perhaps an obscure reference to the band's earlier instrumental 'The Curse of Captain Morgan'; the sort of trivial footnote that may find its way into a future Wikipedia entry) and the band's sound shows a noticeable development. The speed ranges from full-pelt thrashing to a steadier jig style once again, and the instrumental prominence in this epic piece makes it comparable to Iron Maiden's own seafaring epic 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner,' only shorter, and shows great use being made of the studio facilities. It's one of the most typically power metal songs on the album and thus one that should be eagerly plundered by Dragonforce fans, something that is sped along by the chorus melody sounding more or less directly lifted from that band's 'Black Winter Night.'
'Nancy the Tavern Wench' is the first of three songs to follow a significantly slower, folk-based style with the metal as a mere support, and one of two songs along with 'Of Treasure' to revive the traditional sea shanty in a thoughtful manner, sounding similar to folk metal deviations such as Týr's memorable take on 'The Wild Rover.' Once again, the band stays true to its creative vision without lapsing into self-parody (they're obviously having a whale of a time playing this stuff, but it isn't just a joke to them), and the lead accordion effect of 'Nancy' is fitting as its take on a female character's "theme." The later 'Of Treasure' (oh, so that's how you spell it) goes even further, based on acoustic guitar and flute and even introducing one of those springy things that are such a staple of Viking metal in the works of Bathory, Månegarm and Moonsorrow. I don't know what it's called, but I have a deep-seated fondness for its daft simplicity (please enlighten me if you know). The only other song to fall into this general style is actually very different, but shares camaraderie for relegating the rock instruments to the background; the closing track is the band's patriotic dedication to their Scottish homeland, the keyboards scoring extra points for producing a regal flair and not resorting to clichéd bagpipes, as the band chants the Corries' 'Flower of Scotland' with pride, before presumably launching into a rugby game on deck after the album closes. This finale is the least impressive song, but works as a fine coda, while the other two work brilliantly to break up the album without the need for (God forbid) ballads. After all, what would be the interest in a sensitive pirate?
The remaining bulk of the album showcases the band at its fiercest and finest, mostly coming from the excellent second E.P. 'Terror on the High Seas' and likely presenting the band's direction for the future, away from the slower narratives that characterised the album's first half. Now that the band has frequented the taverns and indulged in their trezer hunting deals, it's time for some serious conquest and pillaging as the seabound equivalent of Manowar's metal warriors, often spouting comparably ridiculous lyrics. 'Death Before the Mast,' the only other "new" song, is the band's most thrash-based offering, featuring significantly faster verses that Bowes tackles in a manner similar to Megadeth, but the style is perfected in the band's crowning glory, 'Terror of the High Seas' (undergoing a slight alteration from its earlier form, not least in its title). This is currently the band's classic, with their finest guitar riffs and their most dynamic performance recorded to date, perfectly suited to its violent lyrics.
'Set Sail and Conquer' is a little less brilliant, slowing down as the lyrics take on a less riveting self-confidence in the pirates' inevitable victory and thus lack the adventurous spirit of the previous song, metaphorically docking at Port Manowar as Bowes regurgitates that band's clichés of divine providence, the fight until death and the laughter over dying foes. Although it's still a highly enjoyable song, spoiled a little by the pompous lyrics, there comes a surprising turnaround with the instrumental/solo section in the second half that ends up being the most substantial and varied of the album, building on the efforts of the previous two songs and inserting a soft jig section for atmosphere similar to the earlier title track. This is some of the strongest evidence that this band really is a force to be reckoned with, particularly as its relatively fresh musicians are free to hone their talents on future releases.
If the album was capable of serving up even more excitement over this new band, it delivers it wonderfully with the penultimate 'Wenches & Mead'; forebodings of a cop-out comedy song certainly, but the band launches into character as metal pirates to such a degree that there's never any doubt of their sincerity, however ludicrous the lyrics ("Hey, hey, I want more wenches / Lots of wenches is what I need"). As well as going all-out on the debauchery front, this arguably represents the perfection of the synthesis between metal and sea shanty in equal measure, as the lead accordion is as prominent as the guitars and drums.
Alestorm is certainly one of the most exciting metal bands of the moment, and one that shouldn't be unfairly judged as a mere gimmick - there's some work to be done on the technical front, and more trezer and wenches to pillage before they can bottle another recording and send it back to shore with tales of their further exploits, but 'Captain Morgan's Revenge' is an incredibly fun and high quality album of modern heavy metal. Released in the UK on 28th January 2008.
Advantages: Hearty tales of wenches and conquest, performed with vigour and power.
Disadvantages: Still reliant on others' established styles at this stage.
All Shall Perish
Hate Malice Revenge
***
Written on 27.12.07
First released on Amputated Vein Records before being snapped up by Nuclear Blast (gotta love these extreme metal labels!), the bluntly titled 'Hate.Malice.Revenge' is a strong but significantly flawed debut that savagely impales itself in the foot by corroding its classic death metal foundations with irritating elements of more recent metalcore, leading to the band's fairly logical but still silly pigeonholing of a "deathcore" genre. Rather than incorporating these poisonous elements across the whole, general sound, each song instead shifts clumsily between talented and expressive death metal and noisy, Slipknot-style bashing and yelling, with the latter style thankfully taking up far less space. This inevitable deterioration into simplistic breakdown riffs becomes something to dread as each new song optimistically begins, and serves to spoil what would otherwise be a fine album of traditional death metal, mixing the very best of the Floridian and Swedish pioneers of the early nineties.
The short opening song sets the tone for what can be expected over the following thirty-six minutes: an introductory minute or so of extremely fast, energetic and varied guitar riffs over maniacally blasting drums with some seriously angry vocals, before the band decides to offer something simplistic and slow for the lowest-common-denominator headbanging crowd. 'Laid to Rest' is much better at nearly twice the length, with time for the guitar to really show off with Dismembered-style thrash riffs and Amon Amarth-esque tremolo-picking guitar leads, while Matt Kuykendall's drums remain consistently high quality in all but the offending passages. Even the bass guitar can be discerned prominently when the guitars move into the higher pitches, satisfyingly grounding the sound. Unfortunately, this winning combination (with the exception of the distractingly prominent breakdown section) would be forgotten for the next couple of songs, which at least allows the second half of the album to stand particularly strong.
'Our Own Grave' begins promisingly, taking on a slower approach akin to melodic black metal before returning to the style of the first song and then falling considerably into oafish, sub-Pantera groove metal where the slowed guitars sound more due to lethargy. Even worse is that the entirety of track four follows suit, and the later 'For Far Too Long...' is the last really disappointing song to follow a predominantly nu-metal style, the weakest link between the otherwise great tracks five to eight. 'Sever the Memory' is based largely on the same tremolo-picking lead guitars that worked well earlier in the album, and 'Never Ending War' gradually works its way loose of the metalcore bonds it begins with, to once again take its cues from Dismember - this makes it particularly pleasing for me, as they have long been one of my favourite death bands.
It's a shame that the album's most inherently stand-out moment is the angry yelling of its title in the middle of this song, but I remember it more fondly for its incorporation of thrash and epic elements towards the conclusion. The real finale itself is similarly impressive and takes no prisoners (it's all too easy to slip into thrash metal clichés when reviewing a high-octane album like this); the drums and guitars roaring with increased ferocity and throwing out some great riffs, while the vocals shift deeper and become double-tracked just in case you weren't feeling it yet.
All Shall Perish have released a further album since signing to Nuclear Blast, and I can only hope that their deathcore sound has advanced into a more appropriately symbiotic relationship. 'Hate.Malice.Revenge' has nothing of the groundbreaking album about it, but it works well as a tribute to the thrash-influenced early death metal acts, particularly the Swedish. It's just a shame they let in all that Dixieland riff-raff.
1. Deconstruction
2. Laid to Rest
3. Our Own Grave
4. The Spreading Disease
5. Sever the Memory
6. For Far Too Long...
7. Never Ending War
8. Herding the Brainwashed
All That Remains
The Fall of Ideals
***
Written on 11.01.08
All That Remains is a band from Boston that specialises in just about the most irritating and widespread metal trend of the last few years, but thankfully does it better, and less irritatingly than just about anyone else. While their music is still plagued with cringe-inducing metalcore elements (mindless double bass drumming, lazy guitar harmonies and angry hardcore shouting balanced out by squeaky boy band unpleasantness), the sound is still grounded in the melodic death metal style of the nineties Gothenburg bands whose works are still brilliant in isolation, but have left a reluctantly foul legacy.
'The Fall of Ideals' is their most recent album, and once I was able to get past my prejudices, I discovered it to be a fairly good one. You know, if you're into that sort of thing. Ex-Shadows Fall frontman Philip Labonte's impressive vocal range is undoubtedly the album's selling point, and the rest of the band members essentially provide the style shifts that allow him to fully demonstrate his abilities, from the usual mix of Soilwork-style yelling and really irritating metalcore singing (not heavy metal singing; this owes far more to something like the Backstreet Boys) and even an attempt at Demilich-style deep growls in 'The Weak Willed' that he can't really achieve, but at least helps to make that particular song the highlight of the album.
While there's some degree of variation between songs, the style is more or less a loud, fairly fast and energised metal affair with disappointingly weak guitars I hardly noticed at all until they threw out a short, simplistic solo, and drumming that over-uses the bass pedals and launches into breakdown passages with tedious regularity. There's a distinct lack of entertaining or creative guitar riffs that really ought to be expected from the melodic death metal genre that this band clings to so tenuously, and despite enduring a less uncomfortable forty minutes that I at first feared, the memory of Labonte's vocals, while not necessarily being to my preference, were ultimately all that remained (do you see what I did there?)
To my grumpy, world-weary ears, the sections of this album that feature pop vocals over a weak, quiet guitar and inappropriately hammering bass drums serve as the perfect example of why metalcore doesn't work. It's ridiculously bipolar, but that undoubtedly works as part of its charm in attracting young American emo fans who fancy themselves as depressed schizophrenics. At least with albums like this, the kidz (do you see what I did there? I changed an s to a z to show that I'm with it) have a fair inauguration into death metal that I can only hope will send them down to dark path into a new world of musical delights, but will probably only end up turning them into death metal snobs who rate bands according to their measurement on the Richter scale. This album lies in an interesting position between melodic death and metalcore, but is thankfully still metal to the core. Do you see what I did there?
1. This Calling
2. Not Alone
3. It Dwells in Me
4. We Stand
5. Whispers (I Hear You)
6. The Weak Willed
7. Six
8. Become the Catalyst
9. The Air That I Breathe
10. Empty Inside
11. Indictment
Allegiance
Hymn Till Hangagud
****
Written on 11.01.08
Evolving from a more straightforward death metal band in the late eighties, Sweden's Allegiance followed a string of improving demo releases with this excellent work of epic black metal. Borrowing heavily from the Viking metal style pioneered by Bathory's legendary 'Blood Fire Death' and 'Hammerheart' albums, this is a significantly heavier and more aggressive take on the folk-inspired Viking style being pursued at the time by Moonsorrow, Månegarm and others, dealing with more appropriately violent themes than those bands' more wide-ranging overview of Viking culture and history. While this will make it easier to digest for traditional black metal fans, thanks in no small part to the presence of brutal Marduk drummer Fredrik Andersson, it does tend to lack the unparalleled atmosphere of the other genre.
The Viking elements are most prominent in the acoustic intro and outro tracks, and calmer passages intersecting the rest, which include some clean chanting and even the tell-tale sampling of war horses. Aside from that, this is black metal in the traditional style, again a little reminiscent of Bathory (earlier career) in its gritty riffs of Pär Thornell and "Bogge" Svensson, increasing in intensity culminating in the violent 'The Third Raven,' before the fourth track deliberately slows things down a little to avoid the increasingly tense and difficult game of black metal one-upmanship. The longer opening song and 'The March of Warlike Damned' are perhaps the album's finest works, using their extended lengths to great effect while some of the shorter songs fail to distinguish themselves.
Spurred on by Andersson's relentless drums this is exciting, full-pelt black metal with a twist. Unfortunately, it's a twist that Viking metal fans are already over-familiar with, and it seems a little lacking and basic in its sampling here. The select use of English lyrics in two songs is a little jarring and confusing, and ultimately more unsatisfying than if the band had held firmly to its authentic Scandinavian heritage as their ancient Viking brothers did. But then again, you don't see much of them any more.
1. Hofdingadrapa
2. De nordiska lagren
3. The Third Raven
4. Himmelen romnar
5. Den kristnes dod
6. The March of Warlike Damned
7. Stridsfard
8. Spjutsongen
Allen Lande
The Battle
**
Written on 12.01.08
Call me Mr. Picky, but if an album's artwork promises a violent encounter between fantastical riders on a mammoth and a ceratopsid with lances at the ready, I'm going to be a little disappointed when 'Another Battle' turns out to be a bland lament about a relationship breakdown. It's clear that this entire project, engineered and written entirely by Magnus Karlsson (who plays all the instruments aside from the drums), is merely a vehicle to combine two of the most sensational vocalists in the heavy metal world. Apparently.
Unfortunately, 'The Battle' between Symphony X's Russell Allen and Masterplan's Jørn Lande is something the listener will spend the entire album awaiting to no avail, assuming that unlike me, their interest didn't wane increasingly with each tedious offering before the whole thing became a serious chore to get through. The two singers possess a sufficiently different range for this to work, on the six songs that they are actually pitted against each other (in an amicable, supportive arrangement, of course), but Lande's higher notes unfortunately lead to that singer being far more prominent in the album's very worst offerings, leading to the superior hard rock stylings of Allen being overshadowed. Symphony X are one of the foremost bands of progressive metal, combining neoclassical guitar and keyboard flourishes with an American thrash style that has produced some of my favourite albums of all time. Masterplan are power metal or something, apparently, but I haven't heard of them. With their powers combined, what on Earth will be the result?
An incredibly weak melodic rock album is the answer. Barely clinging on to its supposed metal roots with a few nice guitar solos and riffs recycled from Queensrÿche, I can't imagine a two-disc collection of 'The Weakest Hair Metal Power Ballads of the 80s... Ever!' sounding less effeminate than this. There's nothing wrong with not being metal of course (well, there is really, but let's pretend I have a reasonable world view), but this album is clearly targeted at the metal crowd with its prominent frontmen. If Karlsson wants to make an album of easily digestible light rock anthems, he could at least have the decency to admit it, without raising unrealistic hopes for some heavy metal about battles. Both singers adapt a significantly more pop-oriented style perfectly suited to these melodic songs, mostly based on mediocre hard rock guitar riffs but occasionally and horribly on piano, but it's Allen who retains the most dignity. He's already explored a pop vocal direction in some of Symphony X's past songs (the boy band chorus of 'Out of the Ashes' and the weird refrain of 'Wicked' spring to mind), and although he has to contend with some awful lyrics here, he's at least spared the ballads.
'Reach a Little Longer' is the most significantly vomit-inducing five minutes of this tedious hour, and Lande makes it much worse by really getting into it, making silly hum sounds and pretending to ad-lib/scat over the final guitar solo. I'm sure it wouldn't offend most casual listeners quite as much, as the whole idea of an album based entirely around the singer is something you don't really get in metal: even the side projects of prominent vocalists tend to be as heavy and band-oriented as their customary outfits (things like Bruce Dickinson, Halford and Dio). Not all of the album is terrible, and there are some parts that are saved by pleasant lead guitar melodies (such as 'Wish for a Miracle' and 'Truth About Our Time') before these too become overly repetitive, while 'My Own Way Home' stood out as being the most successful meeting of all the instruments. The rest of the album is an incredibly dull, pop rock affair that I'd be embarrassed if caught listening to (I had to turn it down in case my flatmates thought I was normal or something), spoiled further by some really bad lyrics about boring stuff like love and the world rather than prehistoric monsters fighting, that's what I like. The worst thing is, they did it all again...
1. Another Battle
2. Hunter's Night
3. Wish for a Miracle
4. Reach a Little Longer
5. Come Alive
6. Truth About Our Time
7. My Own Way Home
8. Ask You Anyway
9. Silent Rage
10. Where Have the Angels Gone
11. Universe of Light
12. The Forgotten Ones
Allfather
Weapon of Ascension
***
Written on 12.01.08
'Weapon of Ascension' is the first and, it seems, last album from Canadian death/black metal band Allfather. Combining the most brutal and violent elements of both metal styles with suitably war-torn lyrics, these eleven short songs - all lasting less than the tedious and unreasonable length of three minutes - make for one of the most relentless and aurally offensive albums I own, but in a good way. This is certainly not an album for all people, tastes or times.
The band plays violent death-influenced black metal in the style of Behemoth or the slightly more local Angelcorpse (evidently, America and Canada are the same place in my world view), based entirely around the core instruments without excessive or atmospheric elements from keyboards. Paul Jacobson's blasting drums are the key feature in setting the exhaustive pace and hammering into the listener's head, but the other instruments compensate for this repetition by introducing some really quite interesting and talented deviations, though still confined within fairly narrow musical horizons. Justin Hagberg handles all the guitars on this recording, predominantly running at the same breakneck pace as the drums but frequently slowing or ranging between riffs, but this still isn't something that's going to appeal to casual listeners, even fans of similarly extreme metal genres. Adam Angus' bass is similarly talented and can be heard clearly in the impressive production, and although the vocals lack distinctiveness in sounding exactly the same as all the other aggressive black metal bands, it's a tried and tested formula.
With songs frequently coming in under two minutes long, this isn't the sort of album that engenders specific favourites, but is rather a directed aural assault - I'm damned if I could recall a specific song by name, but then most people who listen to this are likely to be damned anyway. The short length of under thirty minutes seems a little thrifty from a purely quantitative point of view, but it keeps the album tight and focused without any extraneous filler that would have lessened its impact, though in all honesty I doubt I would have been able to discern half-hearted additions from some of the less impressive offerings (perhaps they already did that, and the original album was only fifteen minutes?)
Fans of extreme metal of the most extreme sort should check out these angry Canadians, but for the rest of you, this is unapologetically impenetrable. The lyrics are similarly not going to attract any weak-hearted fans, though they're a little more meaningful and lucid for coming from natural English speakers for a change, even of they are Canadians. I don't have enough anger in my heart to fully appreciate this album, seriously damaging my metalhead credentials, but I'd still be interested in a reform in the future.
1. Evolution to Supremacy
2. Forever Unconquerable
3. Flight into Exile
4. Hail! Tyrants of War
5. Storm Assault
6. Through Ages Wrought
7. Invictus
8. Of Man and Valour
9. Blood and Soil
10. In the Face of Nobility
11. Progeny of Vengeance
12. Path of Glory
Alpha Wave Movement
Drifted into Deeper Lands
***
Written on 12.01.08
Like many electronic artists, Gregory Kyryluk produces work under a variety of aliases, presumably to signify contrasting musical approaches. If this is the case, then Alpha Wave Movement is surely his chief outlet for composing relaxing ambient mood music, though a certain restless flair keeps the recording interesting and creative enough to avoid being a mere "sounds of the ocean" throwaway. All the same, it's music confined to a particular mood, and is a difficult album to rate.
Praised by its small fan following as a genius work of space rock (a term that seems to apply to anything featuring faux-symphonic keyboards), this has more in common with ambient works than the electronic music pioneered by artists such as Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre in the seventies, though there are similarities to these composers' more atmospheric works. The closest comparison in my own collection is Tangerine Dream's escapist classic 'Phaedra,' and despite coming much further down the chronology of electronic music, this album is so rooted in the ambient style that it could easily have been released in the early seventies.
The album's title is perfectly revealing of its sound, as all six tracks are aimed at carrying the listener off to a relaxing realm far from the concerns of daily life. Kyryluk could probably get away with holding the same pleasing keyboard note for fifty-six minutes and still achieve this aim, but fortunately his artistic drive leads him to experiment somewhat dangerously with additions and distractions. In truth, these additional touches are nothing particularly inventive and are restricted to the usual instruments that come with the territory: the synthesisers themselves are primarily rooted in soft, sweeping orchestration, but take on a slightly more pressing and dark edge in 'Awakening the Sand Spirits' before 'Suspended in the Hanging Gardens' offers up almost Jarresque beeps and boops (yeah alright, I don't own a keyboard and I'm not overly familiar with the jargon). Other sounds include softly rattling wind chimes, softly clunking bottles and softly tapping percussion across various songs, though it would be difficult (and inappropriate) to single out each of the six compositions individually.
The first song is a rather long-winded fourteen minutes in length before the others offer up a more approachable seven to nine minutes each, but despite a tendency towards white noise, the opening titular piece succeeds at setting the soothing mood before Kyryluk gradually sneaks in the "real music." I can see how this album would be of interest to die-hard fans of electronic prog, but it's difficult for casual listeners to appreciate as anything other than dull and pleasant chill-out music to play when you don't really feel like listening to something you might actually like. My listening experience on a computer was actually rather irritating due to a subtle but distracting whine in the first track that obviously became the prominent sound once my ears noticed they could hear it, but this was probably - hopefully - an issue with my rubbish speakers rather than the album itself. 'Drifted into Deeper Lands' will help you to chill out in the afternoon, but make sure not to pay too much attention or you will become bored and irritable.
1. Drifted into Deeper Lands
2. Silent Promise
3. Awakening the Sand Spirits
4. That Which Remains
5. Another Time... Another Place
6. Suspended in the Hanging Gardens
Alquin
The Mountain Queen
**
Written on 12.01.08
Influenced by various styles of early progressive rock, Holland's Alquin contributed their own disputed classic with 'Mountain Queen' in 1973. Mostly comprised of lengthy instrumental jams, the album is at its best when combining the seemingly irreconcilable elements of loose jazz improvisation and catchy rock melodies in a manner that surprisingly works, and the song lengths reflect this theme of extremes in their wildly varying lengths: two are around fifteen minutes long, and the rest lie somewhere between fifty-five seconds and eight minutes.
Although its contradictorily ambitious and tedious natures undermine its acceptance as one of the legends of prog, 'Mountain Queen' is a notable improvement over Alquin's previous album, showcasing a tighter focus within the group and making successful, extensive use of supporting instruments, particularly in the lengthy saxophone and flute passages. Comparisons to the pastoral sound of England's Camel and Caravan are particularly relevant when the flute comes into play as in the penultimate song, but the core sound is rooted firmly in loud, guitar and organ-led rock.
The album stakes its reputation on the two songs that consume the vast majority of its playing time, 'The Dance' and 'Mountain Queen' that open each side of the original vinyl and are followed by much shorter pieces for those listeners in a hurry. Neither of these long songs could accurately be described as epics, opting as they do for upbeat, catchy jam sessions with occasional sung verses, but when the anticipated changes come they succeed in adding a certain extra element to the sound that keeps it above mere improv. The songs alternately remind me of songs by Yes, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Camel and, particularly in the finale to the first song, Van der Graaf Generator, but never reaches the same level of excellence displayed by most of those bands in their finest moments (however unpopular some of them may be). The main problem with these long pieces is that they are just too long, running out of interesting ideas and failing to maintain interest as elements are repeated ad nauseam with only some pleasant atmospheric sections to help break it up.
Atmosphere is the key to the success of some of the shorter songs, though these often fail for merely not being interesting enough, or in the case of some of the ridiculously short pieces like the finale, too short to be of any point (in complete contrast to the problem with the earlier songs). 'Soft-Eyed Woman' evokes the image (to me, at least) of the same tranquil beach at sunset that some of Pink Floyd's works of the same era transport me to, with a bumbling bass and softly clacking drums replacing the harder rock of the long songs, while the less impressive 'Convicts of the Air' strangely relocates the action to a cruise down the road in an early seventies TV show (again, we're primarily dealing with my freaky mind). 'Mr. Barnum Jr's Magnificent and Fabulous City' returns to the free-form style of the long songs, varying its tempo and incorporating electric violin along with the return of saxophone and flutes that the regular instruments seem to swing around, and the final track continues this for a bit without causing much of a stir. They didn't even write this particular song.
There are a number of old-timers still clinging firmly to their belief that this is an underappreciated classic of early seventies prog, but I've heard many albums that are far more entertaining, rewarding and technically accomplished, though to its credit the album combines all three areas to a certain degree of success. As far as prog legends of the year 1973 go, it lacks the jamming intensity of 'Larks' Tongues in Aspic,' the poetry of 'Selling England by the Pound' and the majesty of 'Dark Side of the Moon,' but it's some significant distance ahead of 'Tubular Bells' and 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII.' It also offers the Dutch a credible prog band to hold on to when they get fed up of Focus.
1. The Dance
2. Soft-Eyed Woman
3. Convicts of the Air
4. Mountain Queen
5. Mr. Barnum Jr's Magnificent and Fabulous City
6. Don and Dewey Theme (Don Bowman)
Altaria
Divinity
****
Written on 12.01.08
Finland once again proves its peculiar talent for producing accessible rock music mixing elements of metal with romance-obsessed pop that, from any other country, would seem like a ludicrous throwback. Here, it hardly does at all. Lying in an interesting position between the goth-pop-hard-rock-glam-crap of HIM and the more consistently metallic Sonata Arctica, the driving force of Sonata's Jani Liimatainen on guitars and keyboards prevents this from ever being dismissed as a throwaway HIM clone, however hard Taage Laiho tries to convince us otherwise.
Laiho's vocals mainly lie in the middle range designed to make young goth girls cry-clean their mascara, and it's easy to visualise publicity shots or a stage persona designed to convince that he's a shy and tortured man, but one in touch with his feminine side and not above making out with his male band members if it shifts a few more albums. I have no evidence to back up these horrendous insinuations, but that's alright because I'm mainly just joking (or am I?) Needless to say, the vocals aren't my particular cup of tea (neither is tea), but they are performed with impressive skill and some small degree of range; I personally enjoyed the silly high notes of 'Divine.' It's the vocal melodies and choruses repeated ad nauseam that these songs will be most remembered for, and many of them are really good - 'Darkened Highlight' particularly, which is also one of the most impressive songs on the instrumental front.
This is pop power metal of the highest order, and it's all down to Liimatainen, whose recent departure from Sonata Arctica will surely see that band fall even further into a slump. His keyboards are light, polished and sparkling, but are only made prominent on a few occasions when it benefits the song (most notably in 'Stain on the Switchblade,' the most metal offering here), rather than in a jarring eighties rock style that this could easily have lapsed into. The keyboards are primarily used to create the excellent background atmosphere, and although Liimatainen's guitars are less noticeable and impressive than his more metal-oriented performances in Sonata, the tone remains suitably crunchy and powerful and the occasional lead melodies are all enjoyable, if a bit lacking in substance.
This album is mainly let down through its lack of significant variety, each song sounding much the same as the last apart from a few diversions that often end up significantly worse, especially in the case of the plodding 'Haven.' The lyrics are the worst kind of romantic blah that comes with the territory ("I'll be your night and you're my shining star," and so on), but they're obviously going to work well on the intended audience. The Accept cover at the end is revealing of the band's obvious influences in 80s hard rock, but fortunately this album shows that the genre of romantic pop power metal, however laughable and a little embarrassing for a twenty-two-year-old male to be listening to (songs about a triceratops fighting a mammoth are what I like, if you remember), still had some life in it back in 2004.
The band has more or less completely changed since, with only the distinctly unmemorable rhythm section remaining and the bloke from epic power band Celesty leading the guitars, so it could still work out. I hope at the very least that HIM fans check out bands like these and start to move in a metal direction.
1. Prophet of Pestilence
2. Unchain the Rain
3. Darkened Highlight
4. Enemy
5. Falling Again
6. Divine
7. Haven
8. Try to Remember
9. Stain on the Switchblade
10. Discovery
11. Will to Live
12. Final Warning
13. Balls to the Wall (Accept cover)
Alusa Fallax
****
Written on 12.01.08
Released in 1974, this fantastic piece of work remains sadly the only legacy of Italy's most interesting prog rock bands. Paying equal dues to the contemporary worlds of rock, folk and jazz, in tandem as often as separately, it strikes me most as an Italian equivalent of Camel's slightly rubbish instrumental classic 'The Snow Goose' (though that was released the following year), replacing the Celtic pastoral atmosphere with one more fitting to the Mediterranean, and serving up a veritable opera flowing seamlessly through numerous movements, a.k.a. tracks.
Alusa Fallax combines the customary rock instruments - guitar, bass, drums, voice - with various intriguing keyboards common to the time, adding a vital additional layer of flute and saxophone. The musical style and tone changes frequently throughout this album, with contrasting sung verses launching immediately into jazz sections or folk passages, and this keeps it fascinating from its humble beginnings right up to its celebratory finale, even if, like me and all other non-Italian-speakers, you don't have a clue what's actually supposed to be going on (though I think I heard "bastardo" at some point, and I'm pretty sure what that means. I think he rhymed it with "retardo," but that was most likely my imagination). Duty Cirla has an interesting range, moving from a gruff, slightly hoarse approach in the early songs to a more typical grand Italian crooning style later on that's brilliantly reminiscent of opera even if it doesn't try to dominate the speakers in the same way. There's even a deep spoken word section in the middle of the album, when the instruments abandon the singer in a howling wind all alone... that's the main section of the album I'm most curious to understand.
Surprisingly for a prog album, Guido Gabet's guitar is mainly used as a background instrument, the lead responsibilities being handled by Massimino Paretti's keyboard in its various guises, from electric piano to a Pink Floydian space tone and one particularly distinctive and odd style that's returned to on a few occasions, that I can best describe as an alien farting melodiously. These keyboard eccentricities are the only area that serve to date this album, which otherwise escapes any allegations of corniness that could so justifiably levelled against similar releases of the day (referring back to 'The Snow Goose' once again, which in places sounds on par with the tedious video game music of 'Lemmings'), and the prominence of nostalgic folk lends these compositions - alternatively, this one, extended composition - the same atmosphere and effects it generated over thirty years ago.
The overall sound is modestly grand and even somewhat classical, and there's a distinct (yet still subtle) shift after the half-way point that sees Mario Cirla trade his flute for a saxophone, previously only used in small, atmospheric doses, and let rip with some excellent jazz sections that are nevertheless still restrained and logical enough to fit the album's mood. It's a less harsh contrast than the shift from songs one to two on King Crimson's debut album, for example, another classic work that may have helped pave the way for this lesser gem. The drums are ceaselessly experimental and mostly come into play in the more jam-based pieces, clearly due in no small measure to the fact that the singer also bears that responsibility, and while the guitars are less prominent than they would be for most bands, the last song in particular ends with a fine solo, and in the earlier songs there's some pleasant shifting between soft electric melodies, again in the Pink Floyd style, and more authentically Italian acoustics that provide another vital ingredient for this album's excellent atmosphere.
It's a shame that Alusa Fallax ended here, though the band would likely have faced difficulties with the increasing move away from folk-based prog towards the incorporation of electronic elements in that mostly terrible decade that was to follow (terrible for prog at least; there was some damn fine heavy metal and some kick-ass cartoons). Anyone who enjoyed Camel's instrumental work should check this out to see how it really should have been done, but casual listeners should have an easy job avoiding it.
1. Soliloquio
2. Non Fatemi Caso
3. Intorno Alla Mia Cattiva Educazione
4. Fuori di me,Dentro di me
5. Riflessioni Al Tramonto
6. Il Peso Delle Tradizioni
7. Carta Carbone
8. Perchè Ho Venduto Il Mio Sangue
9. Per Iniziare Una Vita
10. E' Oggi
11. E' Così Poco Quel Che Conosco
12. Ciò Che Nasce Con Me
13. Splendida sensazione
Amaran
Pristine in Bondage
****
Written on 13.01.08
Girl-fronted metal bands have been a pretty big thing since bands such as Nightwish, Lacuna Coil and Arch Enemy broke into the metal mainstream with their radically different takes on the idea. With the flouting of frontwomen as the latest metal gimmick (proving successful with those female metal fans who only choose to listen to bands with women singers, regardless of the style - that's just silly), it's refreshing to find a band that has a woman singer more or less arbitrarily, using a natural singing voice against unembellished, pure metal backdrop of guitars and drums, without the need to draft in an ensemble choir and orchestra, or to pretend you've done so with a flash keyboard.
Perhaps in a deliberate gesture to prove bigoted metal fans wrong, though more likely just because it's what they wanted to play, the style developed by guitarists Ronnie Backlund and Kari Kainulainen is a particularly heavy brand of power metal that more or less crosses over into melodic death metal for the most part. Although a couple of songs take a distinctly more pessimistic and slow approach, the majority are mid-speed affairs with heavy guitars enhanced by Robin Bergh's powerful drums, mostly sticking to reliable, if dull, double bass pedal hammering. This is all more than enough to balance out the higher range of Johanna DePierre's vocals and the frequent melodic guitar sections (during which Mikael Anderson's bass is promoted to the foreground in retaining the lower end of the production), but in truth neither the lead guitars nor DePierre's vocals are as distractingly high as much (male-fronted) power metal tends to be on occasion. The production quality is excellent, not discriminating against any instrument or range and bearing a polished finish that enhances rather than weakens the force of the instruments.
Even with riffs hard enough to satisfy metal fans who demand a degree of heaviness, there are many who would find the female vocals an impassable obstacle, but DePierre's casual performance is really no different from a guy singing. Except that it's a woman, with a woman's voice. She doesn't try for an operatic approach, thank god, and while I was a little disappointed at the lapse into so-called "Beauty and the Beast" vocals in 'Katharsis' (the female's lighter touch being pitted against death metal growls from a bloke), the gimmick is thankfully restricted to that song, particularly as whoever's handling the burping growl isn't particularly effective.
'Wrath' is just about the lightest offering here, and even that isn't by a long way, there's just a greater degree of narrative vocals and prominent guitar leads in place of riffs, and if the album has a central flaw it's only that the instruments can occasionally seem merely like an uninspired vehicle to showcase the distinctive, "unusual" vocals, rather than treating them as a happenstance. Still, it's refreshing to hear a female-fronted band that doesn't treat the singer as a different species, instructing them to sing opera or dance around and the like, and we should be thankful that DePierre didn't go the Arch Enemy direction and growl along to the guitars like a wounded lioness.
1. Atropine
2. Revolution Without Arms
3. Coming Home
4. Inflict
5. Without Stains
6. Katharsis
7. 24 Pills
8. Wrath
9. Crow Me
10. Primal Nature
Amebix
Monolith
****
Written on 13.01.08
'Monolith' is a pretty cool album of classic punk-metal, bridging the gap between the metal genres of the eighties and early nineties in a very dark and interesting way. The sound is rooted in the dark side of NWOBHM (the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, as it is still oddly referred today), drawing on the likes of Motörhead, Saxon and early Iron Maiden and fortunately proceeding along the wicked path to a style that would ultimately be labelled death metal with a lot more intensity and credibility than the often laughable Venom. The punk influence isn't anywhere near as prominent as on their previous album.
Death metal was in its earliest form in the late eighties, expanding on the extreme edge of thrash bands such as Slayer, and Amebix share a few similarities with the style in the rasping vocals of the Baron Rockin Von Aphid (perhaps not his real name) (in fact, his real name is Rob Miller), as well as the tuning down of instruments and the overall sinister depressive atmosphere, not to mention the fantastic horror artwork and silly band font, but this is a far cry from Death's 'Scream Bloody Gore.' From the incredibly atmospheric doom metal opening to the speedy thrashing of the first song and the gloomy, melodic elegy of 'Last Will and Testament,' this is an album that encapsulates most of what was great about the evil side of eighties metal, right down to the tomb-like production values.
All the instruments are used to their full potential here, as the band favours mood over speed. Stig da Pig's guitar is excellent (real name Chris Miller), perhaps a little understated for listeners spoiled by modern production values but really fitting this album perfectly and still surprisingly damned heavy, the same going for Arachno Blaster's drums (real name Spider, again perhaps not his real name) that avoid the boring full-pelt blast beats and relentless bass pedal hammering of much modern metal. The Baron's vocals range from a proto-death grunt to a raspy singing style similar to Chris Boltendahl of Grave Digger, and even the bass (also handled by Baron Miller) receives significant attention when the guitar takes on a more melodic, faux-acoustic tone in 'Last Will and Testament' and the introduction to 'Fallen from Grace,' clunking eerily along as if it's crawling over your very grave, or something like that.
For all of its tendencies towards the depraved side of metal, this album still owes a large debt to the NWOBHM (mention location internationally), borrowing its atmospheric take on melodic songs rather than opting for the more disastrous and cringe-inducing power ballads being churned out by American mainstream rock groups at the time, and even the finale 'Coming Home' sounds like something Saxon would have done in their more energetic days at the start of the decade. Amebix is a band that's easily overlooked or easily loathed through their gritty blending of genres, though often cited as an influence on industrial types like Godflesh. This album is an excellent, elegiac epilogue to the decade's eviler edge.
1. Monolith
2. Nobody's Driving
3. The Power Remains
4. Time Bomb
5. Last Will and Testament
6. ICBM
7. Chain Reaction
8. Fallen from Grace
9. Coming Home
Amen
Death Before Musick
***
Written on 13.01.08
Following the success of 'We Have Come for Your Parents,' an album that happily coincided with the "nu-metal" boom at the beginning of the decade, L.A.'s hardcore punks Amen enjoyed a period of inevitable but slow decline here in the UK, oddly the nation in which their angry, riff-based brand of punk rock enjoyed particular popularity, regularly seeing Amen cited as "best band in the world... ever!" and other such nonsense by a fickle fan base of young punks and goths who would be repeatedly bowled over by pretty much every other trend flown in from America over the next few years that was bigged-up by their 'Kerrang!' magazines (I stopped paying attention when all that rap-metal stuff became the bouquet of choice, and it was clear that no one had any idea about anything). Fortunately, with their clear anti-establishment attitude, there was never a chance that Amen would be engulfed by their popularity and sell out as many of their contemporaries would do, and 'Death Before Musick' is the best album they've released.
With fifteen songs over forty minutes, this is another smorgasbord of short and concise punk delights, but executed with technical skill. The guitars are mostly simplistic ('Oblivion Stereo' even starts out sounding like a Sex Pistols track), but this is evidently through choice rather than inability to play, as there are numerous pleasant lead guitar sections where a less constrictive album would include frivolous solos. Casey Chaos' vocals are a definite highlight, ranging from fierce yells that come off sounding more convincing than most hardcore bands to a more standard tone with catchy and easily memorable choruses, 'EXTERMINATE!' ironically being a highlight of the album's less intense side. Part of Amen's popularity is undoubtedly their skilful mix of hardcore, punk and metal elements, leading to a fierce and heavy result that nevertheless remains accessible as all the best punk bands are.
With this album in particular, after some experiments with darker songs on its predecessor, the band experiments successfully with a stoner rock direction similar to Monster Magnet and Acid Bath (Chaos' vocals being reminiscent of Dax Riggs at times), adding an additional crossover interest for fans of sludge/stoner/drone/doom/swamp/whatever other meaningless, unhelpful term you want to come up with rock/metal, led by a lazily riffing hard rock guitar. The subject matter may be fairly predictable in their criticism of various debauched cities, the mainstream music industry and politics among other targets, but Chaos' lyrics are at times unusual enough to stand out and at least catch your attention (such as the repeating chorus "bring me the head of Roman Polanski , bring me the legs of Fred Astaire"), and even if you aren't generally a punk fan you may still be pleasantly surprised.
My only real problem with the band is a more personal criticism of Mr. Chaos himself (perhaps not his real name), who may be largely responsible for all those ridiculous emo-core singers slashing themselves on stage to the cheers of impressionable young morons who should be listening to some proper punk instead, where the only slashing is done in an arc over their adoring heads.
1. Liberation for...
2. Hello (One Chord Lovers)
3. California's Bleeding
4. The Abolishment of Luxury
5. Money Infection
6. Westwood Fallout
7. Oblivion Stereo
8. Please Kill Me
9. EXTERMINATE!
10. We Got the Bait
11. Neutron Liars
12. Sorry, Not Sorry
13. Bring Me the Heads
14. Fuck in L.A.
15. The Summer of Guns
The Amenta
Occasus
****
Written on 13.01.08
Australian industrial death metal band the Amenta were hailed as the best newcomers of 2004 by 'Kerrang!' magazine in a rare display of good taste, though this highly processed, detached, almost mechanised approach to heaviness has always deterred me in bands that tend to attract the "industrial" adjective. Despite their indisputable heavy sound, the Amenta still possess enough mainstream credibility in their modern death metal to sell more albums than those who stick more rigidly to the traditional genres, and although they incorporate some elements of black metal, in certain songs more than others, it's always the more approachable aspects of the extreme genres.
Perhaps adding to their popular intrigue, the band members adopt the practice of anonymity more associated with cacophonous "nu-metal" groups like Slipknot and Mudvayne, and the focus on image is another thing that deters me a little. Some of these songs possess flashes of brilliance, but for the most part it's a repackaged and over-processed version of many albums that have come before in the last decade. Cessium 137 articulates the band's conceptual lyrics in a standard death growl that thankfully avoids the over-exuberant yelling of hardcore-influenced metal bands and also helps to distance this from the black metal genre it occasionally overlaps by not being a screech, yet he is the only really human element. The relentless drums set a distinctly mechanical atmosphere, like a heavier Fear Factory in their early days, and the guitars only escape the restrictions of repeated fast riffs when given the opportunity for some lead work, beginning prominently in track two and culminating in track five, which unleashes numerous heavy riffs against a backdrop of epic keyboards and resembles the better moments of Nile.
After this point, the album starts to embrace black metal more fully in tracks six and seven, both of which feature great treble-heavy screeching black metal lead guitars and eerie backing keyboards, even leading to a less processed and more natural sound for the ensemble band that was unfortunately lacking in some of the earliest offerings. 'Geilt' is heaven from tremolo-picking guitar lead fans (or hell, depending on how seriously you get into metal politics), while 'Sekem' surprises with a softer chorus. The almost constant hammering is finally offered a respite with the title song, a simple yet overlong and slightly tedious electronic ambient interlude that carries on directly from where its earlier counterpart 'Senium' left off, and the final two songs return to the older death metal style, the finale in particular seeking to go out with heaviness overload by seriously overdoing the blast beats of the percussion in a way that doesn't really convince, and in all fairness ends up sounding as if the CD's skipping (the same as can be said for any Lamb of God album).
The Amenta have obviously become slightly overrated compared to the competition, perhaps partly due to a mixture of their unusual ethnicity (Aussie metal bands are comparatively rare) and anti-establishment gothic image that's bound to appeal to the lowest common denominator readers of Kerrang!, though I'm still impressed that the magazine promoted something so fundamentally metal as opposed to the usual trendy rubbish they publicise at the expense of the harder stuff. Their next album promises to be interesting in a conceptual manner, but I'll have to wait and see if the music measures up.
1. Erebus
2. Mictlan
3. Zero
4. Senium
5. Nihil
6. Geilt
7. Sekem
8. Occasus
9. Ennea
10. Sangre
Amiina
Kurr
**
Written on 13.01.08
Well, this is a bit of a strange album to rate. Amiina, as can be seen from the cover of this debut album, is a quintet of women who play classical music in a very minimalist style, something that often results in compositions where nothing much happens at all. María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, Hildur Ársælsdóttir, Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir hail from Iceland (what gave it away?) and frequently collaborate with the more well-known rock band Sigur Rós to add extra gravitas to their recordings, but taken on their own merits I found the experience very lacking.
Part of the problem is that the compositions are often so short, and lacking in detail, that it's impossible to really get to like them, though to their credit these women have an interesting experimental edge that never allows things to become stale or repetitive. A wide array of instruments are used across these songs, ranging from the core piano and string base (viols and harps) to additional glockenspiel, limited electronic effects and ambient vocals, either in a capella babble or more typical choir. These are all undemanding and relaxing pieces, but also lacking anything to really enthral the listener in this form, and even the longer and slightly more impressive songs like the first single 'Seoul' feel less like an epic composition with a beginning, middle and end, and more like an extended single movement. At the other end of the scale, songs like 'Saga' are pointlessly short at less than a minute in length, without even acting as an introduction to enhance their neighbours.
'Kurr' will doubtless appeal to fans of minimalist classical music, and the band's relative success in finding a record label and releasing an album, as well as their collaborations with other artists, indicate that these are likely some of the top players in their game. It left me disappointed all the same, the most favourable impression I gained from it being the sense that, at some points, I was living underwater and everything was pleasant and gay. Perhaps that's worth buying an album for, I couldn't really say.
1. Sogg
2. Rugla
3. Glámur
4. Seoul
5. Lúpína
6. Hilli
7. Sexfaldur
8. Kolapot
9. Saga
10. Lóri
11. Bláfeldur
12. Boga
Amon Amarth
*****
Written on 14.01.08
Amon Amarth's first official recording is classed as an E.P. for its comparatively short playing time, but as these five exclusive songs simultaneously introduce and perfect the Swedish band's distinctive sound, it could rightfully be considered their debut, and an indispensible purchase for melodic death metal fans.
The notion of a 'melodic' branch of death metal is likely to cause some amusement to anyone who has experienced the genre in its most brutal, ear-piercing forms, but as with most off-shoots the transition was fluid and inevitable. Rather than base their grinding guitar riffs, blasting drums and discordant, squealing guitar solos on thrash bands such as Slayer, many death metal performers in the early nineties began to incorporate the steadier pace and dual guitar harmonies of traditional heavy metal bands into their style. The best melodic death bands combined the two approaches and crafted music that was powerful, complex and catchy, most notably from the likes of Dark Tranquillity and Amon Amarth, while others tended to get a little confused and ended up sounding like Iron Maiden with laryngitis.
'Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds' is based exclusively on Amon Amarth's now classic style, captured here in its infancy before the band's energy and creativity waned, and although the subsequent albums 'Once Sent from the Golden Hall' and 'The Avenger' are classics in their own right, nowhere is the band's complexity and vision more concentrated than on this first release. The band is perhaps best known for its almost exclusive focus on Viking themes, tales of battle and Norse mythology dominating the growled lyrics and live shows usually featuring an interval in which Viking warriors would crowd the modest stage and engage in several minutes of sword clashing during the band's titular song. Despite this conceptual focus, and the band's undeniably authentic Viking appearance (they all have long blonde hair and most have accompanying beards), I don't associate their distinctly melodic death metal sound with Viking conquest in the same way I do the so-called 'Viking metal' bands such as Bathory, Moonsorrow and Månegarm, whose folk elements, slower pace and use of ancient language paint vivid pictures of Norse sagas. Nevertheless, in their more laid-back moments, Amon Amarth's reliable rhythms conjure images of a longboat crew setting sail for rape and pillage.
Credit must be given to every member of Amon Amarth for their outstanding performance on this debut, particularly the incredible dual guitar harmonies and powerful riffs of Olavi Mikkonen and Anders Hansson and the perfect drumming of Nico Kaukinen, whose talent at variation and knowledge of when to slow things down keeps the rhythm section interesting and entertaining rather than the simple double bass drum and blast beat assault of many of his lesser contemporaries. Johan Hegg growls his way through the lyrics admirable above the beautiful and harmonious cacophony, not distinctive enough in resorting to the customary masculine roars of all death metal but clearly full of energy and ability at this early point, as evidenced by his frequent screams as each new guitar riff bursts into life. Of course, he has the unfortunate status of being the key ingredient that will put many non-death metal fans off this recording, which they could otherwise appreciate immensely. Last but not least, Ted Lundström's bass work deserves applause simply for being so audible in the first place, clearly heard throughout the recording providing a great backing rhythm for the harmonised guitars that helps to ground the whole thing when Mikkonen and Hansson leap into solos. Hansson and Kaukinen sadly departed after this release (in the sense that they left the band; they didn't die), while the rest have proceeded to essentially replicate their performances for the rest of their successful career.
1. Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds
2. The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter
3. Burning Creation
4. The Mighty Doors of the Speargod's Hall
5. Under the Grayclouded Winter Sky
The album begins as it means to go on by launching straight into a heavy riff performed by both guitars, that soon evolves into the dual harmonies that make this album exceptional and innovative at the time, before every other Scandinavian band decided to copy it. The guitar harmonies are almost reminiscent of Bathory's melancholic melodies in their slowest stages, but for the most part this is tight and powerful, evident even in the controlled solos. It's a difficult task to describe each individual song as they follow very similar styles, which for some listeners will prove to be a disadvantage, but there are enough differences to distinguish each impressive song from the next, though admittedly it takes several listens to define each piece. 'Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds' is the shortest song on here and works as a great introduction, featuring a couple of speed changes and a nice slow solo that set up the sound that the listener will experience for the next twenty-five minutes, and the harmonised lead-out at the end is perhaps its best feature.
'The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter' is a song taken from the band's earlier demo of the same name, though obviously this version is more polished and better executed. Amon Amarth's style is at its peak here, and will not descend for the remainder of the disc, Hegg yelling outside the verses to join in with each new movement. There's a great sense of structure to this song, returning at the end to riffs introduced at the opening, and the dual lead guitars are the perfection of melodic death metal, reminiscent of what Dark Tranquillity were doing around the same time. Much use is made of tremolo picking to add a distinct warbling sound to the speedy riffs, and the time changes are all noticeable without seeming forced. Inaugurating a slightly calmer and more reflective portion of the album, 'Burning Creation' foreshadows the medium speed blaring that would dominate the band's work in the new millennium, while also exuding an incredible atmosphere without needing to resort to keyboards, something I always admire in bands. The guitar solo is something of a release from this more thoughtfully paced piece, squealing and squeaking in a way that harks back to the eighties, but still refined and kept under control before the nice fade-out at the end.
It wouldn't be a Viking album without the trademark sampling of a horse, though the accompanying sound of a cart being towed makes a nice change from the repetitive galloping that worked so well for Bathory, but got old quite fast. 'The Mighty Doors of the Speargod's Hall' has a suitably slower pace similar to the previous song, and seems primarily concerned with maintaining its compelling and - yes - catchy rhythm across the near six-minute playing time, which it does without ever seeming to drag on. Kaukinen's drums are at their best here, and the band never loses its energy or focus. Finally comes perhaps the album's crowning achievement, 'Under the Grayclouded Winter Sky' which beats almost anything they would release later, with a couple of exceptions (such as the excellent 'North Sea Storm'). Fading in slowly with the musicians already playing at full pelt, this is the only song to take full advantage of the dual guitar harmonies as a separate entity, circling around the great vocal melody and rhythm section with a newfound complexity. Every change this song throws up is exciting, from the stopping and starting of the drums to the album's longest and most involved guitar solo, which grinds to a crashing halt for a final reprise of the main riff.
'Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds' may be a short album, but it catches Amon Amarth at its very best, and is certainly an instance of quality over quantity. The perfect and necessary addition to any collection of their earlier albums, all the material is exclusive and the remaster fixes the slightly inferior production values, which I thought were impressive for a 1996 debut E.P. in the first place. Metal fans may find the band a little hard to approach for their reliance on a repetitive sound and lack of distinct chorus sections, but the death metal growls are essentially there to provide a focal point amidst the excellent instrumentation, which is what the songs are really about. Although hard to come by in its original form, pictured here, the E.P. is more readily available on the special 'Viking edition' of 2002's 'Versus the World' album as a second disc, followed by the two earlier demo releases that are also well worth listening to. It may lack Viking authenticity, but this is a classic release of mid-nineties death metal.
Amon Amarth
Once Sent from the Golden Hall
****
Written on 14.01.08
For their first full-length release, Amon Amarth continue in the style established by their excellent E.P. 'Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds,' tackling exclusively Viking themes in a fast and catchy melodic death metal style, with none of the folk influence of Sweden's own Viking metal genre itself.
'Once Sent from the Golden Hall' is noticeably a step down in terms of heaviness and intensity from its predecessor, making for an album of mostly energetic and fast-paced death metal that aims to be more accessible to the rock mainstream, without yet abandoning this speed in the style of later releases. The main failing of this album compared to the previous E.P. is that it's a lot less concise, as the band's frankly repetitive style results in some later offerings ('Friends of the Suncross' and 'Once Sent from the Golden Hall') failing to really stand-out despite their inherent strength, while the longer and more consciously epic narratives tend to be a little too long, consciously epic and narrative.
This is still first-rate melodic death metal of the old school, before the term and even the bands themselves evolved to mean something sadly all too different, and like Edge of Sanity and In Flames, Amon Amarth puts slightly less emphasis on the heaviness that might deter casual listeners and hopefully attract metal fans who don't normally go in for that heavy stuff. The whole Viking thing also permits this band a neat niche within the genre, and although it feels a little stretched by later albums, the band is obviously committed to the theme beyond a mere gimmick, in the same manner as Alestorm's pirate power metal and the millions of practitioners of J.R.R. Tolkien metal.
This is clear from the onset, as Johan Hegg roars a tale of bloodthirsty vengeance for the death of his family, always legible through the aggressive roar unlike many death bands, and reaches grander heights in 'Victorious March' and the band's titular 'Amon Amarth,' two songs that primarily use the instruments as a repetitive backing track for tales of conquest and victory, the latter even containing a brief sample of swords clashing and bodies falling at its centre. While these are both intriguing and enjoyable songs, making prominent use of Ted Lundström's bass and some nice guitar slow-los, they take on a slightly more ambient manner to the more direct and fun metal of other tracks, tending to outstay their welcome, and aren't ideally suited to a recorded form. Witnessing Amon Amarth live in the flesh, or on their excellent DVD 'Wrath of the Norsemen,' it's clear that these songs really belong in that environment, as Viking stuntmen crowd the stage and turn thirty seconds of sound effects in a long and entertaining interlude while the band nips off to the bar.
The other songs are all more dynamic and varied, Olavi Mikkonen churning out an impressive number of memorable guitar riffs outside of his primary task, relegated to relentless tremolo-picking lead melodies that don't have much opportunity for variation; essentially the guitar equivalent of death metal's mindless double bass drumming, a fate that Martin Lopez escapes due to his kit skills. While there are many great songs, 'Ride for Vengeance' and 'Without Fear' certainly among the best, it's 'Abandoned' that impresses the most for using its extended length of six minutes to far greater effect than the longer and duller 'Victorious March' and 'Amon Amarth' managed, throwing out endless riffs, great solos and numerous structural changes while still making time for an engaging narrative that doesn't demand prominence in the same way. The riff towards the end even references the classic period of Bathory, in what I like to imagine is an intentional homage to the real father of Viking metal, though probably isn't.
1. Ride for Vengeance
2. The Dragons' Flight Across the Waves
3. Without Fear
4. Victorious March
5. Friends of the Suncross
6. Abandoned
7. Amon Amarth
8. Once Sent from the Golden Hall
Amon Amarth
The Avenger
*****
Written on 14.01.08
Amon Amarth's second album revives the fierce intensity that was sadly lacking on their previous effort. With the death metal foundation back in full force, and epic Viking concepts still as strong as ever, 'The Avenger' is Amon Amarth's finest full-length release, even if that length is a little lacking at only thirty-seven minutes.
My issues with the preceding album all seem to have been remedied, with only the title track feeling overlong and repetitive in its focus on narrative over music, as it's the only song in which Johan Hegg's increasingly confrontational vocal style seems truly out of place, his yells of "Die! Die!" only serving to irritate rather than inspire latent Viking bloodlust in my veins (I'm hopeful that one of my ancestors was ravished at some point). The rest are all excellent death metal songs, incorporating melodic elements perfectly without seeming forced or succumbing to a tamer sound as hindered the previous release. Without any drawn-out, repetitive mock-epics stealing the limelight (apart from the one already exorcised), this is a rip-roaring adventure on the high seas that uses every concisely edited minute to its fullest, in longer and shorter songs alike.
A brief drum intro leads into the album's first harsh death metal riff with stonking bass clunking away above fierce drums, and already it's clear that this will be a fast-paced ride. This is a distinctly angrier album than any other thus far released by the band, and this is enhanced by Hegg's raspier vocal tone as much as the prominence of heavy guitar riffs in place of the endless melodic leads that can become irritating in the rest of their discography. The tremolo-picking frenzy returns in 'The Last With Pagan Blood' which also has some great thrash riffs, and makes effective use of slowing everything down to near silence - carried only by a soft bassline and a heartbeat - before launching right back into the volume. It's a bit of a contrivance admittedly, but they do it well, and repeated listens could even cause neck-hairs and other body parts to stand eagerly to attention for more die-hard fans.
The great thing about these songs is that they never stop moving and re-inventing themselves in unexpected but logical ways, 'God, His Son and Holy Whore' being the most technically diverse with a frenetic pace and multiple guitar changes, and classic guitar solos blasting forth from 'Bleed for Ancient Gods' and especially 'North Sea Storm,' the latter of which has the distinction of being one of my favourite guitar solos in the world. In fact, everything about 'North Sea Storm' is excellent, and really is Amon Amarth at their very best: there's a great contrast between the drums like rolling waves and the hard riffs persevering through, and the lead guitars sneak in between the compelling vocal lines without drawing distracting attention to themselves. It's so strong, there's even a section that gets by with Hegg letting out a sustained yell rather than bothering to write some more lyrics, and it sounds great.
The last two songs of the album are a little less distinctive as usual, the first for being a slightly out-of-place anthem to the glory of metal, but one thankfully packed with great riffs and perhaps a way in for metal fans who have thus far been a little alienated by the Viking stuff, while 'Legend of a Banished Man' closes the proceedings on an expectedly grand note, forsaking the frenetic pace and harsh riffs for a steadier rhythm and sing-along verses but allowing plenty of time for more well-integrated lead guitars and pummelling drums. 'The Avenger' may be one of Amon Amarth's less instantly accessible albums, but it's guaranteed to become a firm favourite for the initiated. Hail to Odin or whatever.
1. Bleed for Ancient Gods
2. The Last with Pagan Blood
3. North Sea Storm
4. Avenger
5. God, His Son and Holy Whore
6. Metalwrath
7. Legend of a Banished Man
Amon Amarth
The Crusher
****
Written on 16.01.08
Amon Amarth weren't trying to prove anything with 'The Crusher,' and the lack of advancement from their previous two albums will disappoint as many fans as it will satisfy. The album follows the same style as its predecessors, but arguably with less interesting or memorable songs, and is only really distinguished by a shift in production values that lends the whole thing a distinctly Gothenburg sound, something that only serves to rob the band of some of its trademark individuality here without the bonus of extra heaviness or anything else that might be deduced from the album's title. This isn't a bad album by any means, but is the least essential Amon Amarth album of their earlier years, before everything post-'Versus the World' took the band to new disappointing extremes.
The great riffs from Soderberg and Mikkonen are still the driving force, but there are less stand-out riffs here than on previous classics, the exceptions being in the central section of the album with 'The Sound of Eight Hooves' and 'As Long as the Raven Flies,' the latter of which foreshadows the style shift of their following album, and in particular 'Risen From the Sea (2000).' The fact that the most creative and enjoyable song is a reworking from one of their original demos is revealing of the band's laurel-resting at this point (oh no wait, that's Romans isn't it?), that soon turned into all-out boredom masquerading as atmosphere. The most disappointing songs here are those that attempt a more aggressive style and succeed, albeit in a way that smacks more of Dark Tranquillity than typical Amon Amarth, most present in songs like 'A Fury Divine,' before the final track offers something more traditionally death metal as nice relief complete with a frenzy of guitar solos.
I'd like this album a lot more if I hadn't already spoiled by 'Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds,' 'Once Sent from the Golden Hall' and 'The Avenger,' but it's a reasonable enough release before 'Versus the World' ensured that things would never be the same again.
1. Bastards of a Lying Breed
2. Masters of War
3. The Sound of Eight Hooves
4. Risen From the Sea (2000)
5. As Long as the Raven Flies
6. A Fury Divine
7. Annihilation of Hammerfest
8. The Fall Through Ginnungagap
9. Releasing Surtur's Fire
Amon Amarth
Versus the World
****
Written on 14.01.08
'Versus the World' was the start of a new era for Amon Amarth, achieving relative breakthrough status in the metal world at the same time they toned down the aggression and intensity of their Viking-themed death metal. Coincidence, or shameful change of direction for something more commercially viable? Either way, 'Versus the World' stands out in the discography as the point at which Amon Amarth stopped being exciting, and all their songs started to sound more or less the same.
These nine songs are all very similar in their mid-speed melodic death metal and growled conquest narratives, with the exception of two songs that feature some higher-pitched lead guitars and a slower pace for contrived diversity. Amon Amarth's distinctive sound continues here and is always good to hear, the guitars remaining deep and heavy without much in the way of the unnecessary solos and lead harmonies sometimes associated with melodic death metal, with a tendency to carry off a rhythm through relentless tremolo-picking (that's about the only technical term I know for guitar playing, so it's nice of the band to give me the opportunity to use it ad nauseam).
While the band has remained mostly stable across its continuing career, it's the drummer that has tended to revolve in a Spinal Tap manner with most releases, and here Fredrik Andersson proves himself to be the most interesting member of the band, his rhythms evoking the Ancient Norse imagery much more successfully than the often boring guitars and vocals of Johan Hegg, whose angry growl now sometimes sounds out of place in the newly mellowed music. Ted Lundström's bass similarly gets a greater presence in the spotlight, particularly when the guitars go into the higher sections.
While nothing here matches the high-energy romps of old Amon Amarth classics like 'North Sea Storm,' there are a few songs that stand out above the general mediocrity. Opener 'Death in Fire' is almost the perfectly contrived live opener/closer with its powerful guitar riff, great drums and war-torn lyrics, though it still lacks the energy on disc of the earlier albums, the slightly slowed pace sounding a little distracting. 'Thousand Years of Oppression,' 'Where Silent Gods Stand Guard' and the title track are nice and fairly definitive summations of the band's sound at this point in their ceaseless repetition, slightly unfitting battle lyrics and nice main riffs, while the lighter end is carried off with the central 'Across the Rainbow Bridge' and final '...And Soon the World Will Cease to Be,' seeming a little too planned-out in their positions, both of which are probably the best offerings of the album, mixing lighter lead guitars over the ever-present heavier foundation and effectively giving listeners two for one. It has to be said that they are both pretty similar, and the final song succeeds better in realising what track five didn't quite articulate.
The rest of the album follows the same slow, steady rhythms to the point of tedium, especially as the album enters its second half and Hegg's vocal melodies all start to sound exactly the same. Often cited as the band's magnum opus, presumably by people who haven't heard the earlier stuff, 'Versus the World' marks a distinct shift in approach for Amon Amarth that would lead to a trend of increasingly disappointing albums hereafter. There's a special "Viking edition" of this album with a bonus disc containing the first classic E.P. and the band's two great demos that's worth checking out, but prepare to be disappointed when the bonus disc considerably upstages the main album.
1. Death in Fire
2. For the Stab Wounds in Our Backs
3. Where Silent Gods Stand Guard
4. Versus the World
5. Across the Rainbow Bridge
6. Down the Slopes of Death
7. Thousand Years of Oppression
8. Bloodshed
9. ...And Soon the World Will Cease to Be
Amon Amarth
Fate of Norns
***
Written on 14.01.08
Even bloodthirsty Vikings need a day off every once in a while, and Amon Amarth's fifth album is a disappointingly half-hearted affair that seems content to follow the same slow, grand and epic style as its predecessor 'Versus the World' without any of the good bits. The usual Amon Amarth ingredients are there: atmospheric guitar riffs, energetic drumming and easily understood death metal vocals growling a compelling Viking narrative, but each area has a fundamental flaw. The guitars are now primarily a background instrument, all but lacking the excellent lead harmonies and solos of the band's previous efforts, while the comparative ferocity of the endlessly clicking double bass drum pedals and Johan Hegg's confrontational yells now seem distinctly out of place. None of these songs accelerate further than a steady medium speed, and although several are still worthy entries into the Amon Amarth canon, the best accolade that can be afforded to this album is that Ted Lundström's bass guitar is a lot more audible now that the guitars have been mostly relegated to white noise.
The opening intro of 'An Ancient Sign of Coming Storm' is full of hope that this album will be as epic as the last, but this hope is dashed once the song has been playing for over a minute and it becomes clear that what appeared to be a tastefully slow and arduous intro is in fact the main driving riff of the song. This is the style of almost the entire album, and Hegg deteriorates from a bored growl in the first song to a basic spoken word in the second, only bothering to affect a slight gargle as he sits down and reads from his Bumper Book of Viking Myths & Legends. These opening songs feature some good guitars in small doses as usual, but at no point do they match the power of even the most pedestrian heavy metal band, and there's no sign of reaching out in the opposite direction for an epic, either.
Fortunately, the centre holds some greater prizes with the title track, an overlong and repetitive song that would be equally dull if not for the excellent warbling guitar riffs that really are enough to carry this thing across. It's one of my biggest disappointments with this album that all the guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Soderberg need to do to impress me is mess around on the fret board and churn out another of their timeless riffs, but there's a distinct lack of even that most basic effort in most of these songs. 'Fate of Norns' tells a great, sad story with a nice chorus surging in-between, and is catchy and fun enough to stand proud as long as you hold out hope that it will only be the first in a long line of great songs, which it sadly isn't.
Only 'The Pursuit of Vikings' and 'The Beheading of a King' measure up for bringing the guitars to the front for once and grounding themselves in some heavy riffs, the latter song being particularly notable for really engulfing the listener in its plodding barrage in a way that the rest of the album really should have lived up to. It's only these three songs that use the slow speed to their advantage; the rest just do it to be lazy. 'Valkyries Ride' actually angered me in its drab inciting of a Valkyries to flight, and I may or may not have yelled "put a bit of f***ing effort in!" at the speakers, and all that can be said of the seriously overlong and tedious 'Arson' is that it makes time for some rare guitar solos near the end, all of which are, predictably, slow.
This really is quite a disappointing album, particularly compared to the band's ferocious early efforts such as 'The Avenger,' and it seems that either a negative fan reaction or the band's own creative process has all but written off this era as a mistake, the more recent 'With Oden On Our Side' being a slight (but not entirely successful) return to form. These Swedes seem to have been engaged in a slanging match with power metal band Hammerfall for a good few years now, and although Hammerfall's discography tends to be more squarely on the crap side, this may be the one battle lost to the Viking horde.
1. An Ancient Sign of Coming Storm
2. Where Death Seems to Dwell
3. The Fate of Norns
4. The Pursuit of Vikings
5. Valkyries Ride
6. The Beheading of a King
7. Arson
8. Once Sealed in Blood
Amon Amarth
With Oden on Our Side
***
Written on 14.01.08
When Amon Amarth released their long-awaited follow-up to the disappointing 'Fate of Norns,' publicity had raised hopes of a return to the glory of their early days, a conscious breaking away from the niche they had unfortunately forged for themselves as an increasingly dull, repetitive and unoriginal melodic death metal band whose Viking concept was becoming ever more stretched. Sadly, the seal remains unbroken, and 'With Oden on Our Side' is the least compelling Amon Amarth album yet.
The greatest disappointment here is that not only has Amon Amarth lost the energy and spirit of their earlier releases, but now they've even started to lose their distinctive sound as well, with around half the songs on this album sounding like good but generic melodic death metal that could have sprung from any Swedish band, with songs like 'Asator' in particular sounding more like modern Dark Tranquillity. Amon Amarth does need to progress its sound to avoid becoming stale and unpopular, but blending into the scenery and losing their once distinctive touch can't be a good thing, particularly as the world doesn't need another bog-standard Dark Tranquillity clone right now.
Despite apparent claims to the contrary (though maybe I just imagined it), this album is grounded in the same slow- to medium-speed as its predecessor, and its finest moments only manage to measure up to the best of 'Fate of Norns' rather than surpass it, as I had hoped. The title track 'With Oden on Our Side' inaugurates a better second half of the album after the mostly forgettable first, taking on the same warbled guitar tone Amon Amarth are famous for but never really coming up with a memorable guitar riff to match, and 'Cry of the Black Birds' is probably the best offering here for embracing the gradual rhythm and turning it into a successfully evocative battle narrative complete with a traditional heavy metal gallop that's always helpful in visualising a war scene. Unfortunately, it's this same reliance on old-school tricks that makes the more melodic songs like 'Under the Northern Star' sound distinctly un-like the usual darker tone of this band, and more like a bland Iron Maiden forgery with a hoarse throat.
With the guitars all but written off here, and the bass oddly lacking the presence it had in the previous album, it's Fredrik Andersson's drums that are the album's only real saving grace, making the most of the slowed pace and avoiding the usual death metal curse of hammering double bass drums to maintain a fast rhythm. It's only the drums that carry off attempted epics like 'Hermod's Ride to Hell,' ambitiously sub-titled 'Loke's Treachery Part 1,' which is otherwise a really boring narrative song that may be lyrically compelling, but is crying out for a more energetic and mostly instrumental second half that I hope will be provided on the next album. Even the more standard fare of 'Valhall Awaits Me' and 'Gods of War Arise' lack the power of old Amon Amarth, and attempts to remedy this through blaring, tuneless power chords only increase the band's camouflage as a melodic death imitator, rather than one of its most prestigious fathers. Last and least, 'Prediction of Warfare' is just depressingly mediocre.
Amon Amarth had already slipped with their previous album, but this failed return to form may indicate that their golden age really is behind them. There isn't even the excuse that they may be striving for a more epic Viking sound, as the Dark Tranquillity and Iron Maiden elements contradict that goal - and besides, then they'd just be another Swedish Viking metal band in the style of Månegarm, but not as good. Amon Amarth's gradual fall from grace may be an appropriate parallel to the historical demise of Viking civilisation, but I wouldn't know about that. I just like the Vikings' metal.
1. Valhall Awaits Me
2. Runes to My Memory
3. Asator
4. Hermod's Ride to Hell (Loke's Treachery Part 1)
5. Gods of War Arise
6. With Oden on Our Side
7. Cry of the Black Birds
8. Under the Northern Star
9. Prediction of Warfare
Amon Düül II
Phallus Dei
I Hear Enki Coming
***
Written on 14.01.08
One of the less historically significant releases of 1969, but one of my personal favourites, 'Phallus Dei' is Amon Düül II's first album since they became Amon Düül II. Previously, the band had experienced a turbulent and intriguing existence as a loose, freeform, psychedelic jam session for various German musicians, until the most level-headed ones decided to stop the tomfoolery and release an album that's quite mad.
Spewed from the primordial soup of prog rock's not-so -humble beginnings, this is an avant-garde release still based primarily around psychedelic jams, but also bearing traces of what would later be affectionately termed "krautrock." The first half of the album consists of four tracks of varying lengths up to eight minutes, and the second half is entirely taken up by the title song. The band doesn't concern itself with some of the ambitious and often downright vain lyrical concepts of later prog albums from the likes of Genesis and Yes, and is content to revel in its own weirdness, eager to see the result. The band's core psychedelic sound of spacey guitar and bass riffs over rolling bongo percussion is supplemented by keyboards, organs, violins and saxophone to enhance the exotic flavour, and it's hard to listen to the album without instinctively coughing and waving the non-existent vegetable smoke from your face.
While these songs largely sound like jams, there's a strong element of control by the band, displayed prominently in 'Phallus Dei' where the keyboard-drenched atmosphere of random guitar noise, accelerating percussion and ad-libbing choirs are all reined back in every four minutes or so into a "proper" song with a strong, stable rhythm that inevitably deteriorates again quite rapidly, so the same thing happens again. The psychedelia is much the same sound practiced by many bands of the time, notably Jefferson Airplane and early Pink Floyd ('Phallus Dei' is like a weirder and busier 'A Saucerful of Secrets'), but the oddness could only have come from the continent, heading off on similar tangents to Focus. It's not all tomfoolery (though that does figure prominently), with the first song in particular being the straightest of the lot before track two introduces a zany organ and wild Arthur Brown style vocal exclamations that make no sense even when they suddenly start speaking English towards the end, though the high notes are only reached in the short closing song of the first half.
This isn't a sound that's dated well, mainly in terms of the disappointingly quiet and hazy production that fails to really distinguish the guitars but does admittedly add to the detached experience in its own way, but this pleases me. Not all albums should sound as hard as the seventies, as synthesised as the eighties, as polished and minimalist as the nineties or whatever it is that people are doing these days, and it's nice to know you're listening to what the crazy people of olden times used to listen to. The German idiots, they must have been mad! An interesting release.
1. Kannan
2. Dem Guten, Schonen Waren
3. Luzifers Ghilom
4. Henriette Krötenschwanz
5. Phallus Dei
Advantages: Fun, wild, psychedelic early krautrock.
Disadvantages: Loose but repetitive structure makes it seem amateurish, and not all experiments are successful.
Amoral
Reptile Ride
***
Written on 14.01.08
The most recent effort from Amoral is a good example of what melodic death metal ought to have sounded like all along: heavy guitars and drums with harsh vocals, complimented by an appropriate lead guitar presence that makes sense, rather than sounding merely like a tribute to 80s hard rock that conflicts with the album's intended effect. 'Reptile Ride' is a solid release, but nothing very special or individual, coming over a decade after this precise sound had already been perfected by Dismember.
Amoral's sound lies towards the heavier and less melodic end of melodic death metal, but retains the customary harsh vocals that are applied across the board. Vocalist Niko Kalliojärvi is fine in the role, but fairly repetitive and lacking any kind of distinctiveness, but at least he doesn't fool himself into thinking he can sing as many similar vocalists do - the only instance of clean vocals comes very briefly in 'Mute,' while his genuine muteness later on makes the instrumental track a particular highlight, despite similarly lacking creative flair. He also indulges in a strange and not entirely welcome bit of spoken word in 'Few and Far Between' that I was worried was going to descend into rap, but still lacked any of the meaningful gravitas that was presumably intended.
In some instances, notably the first track, there seems to be a bit too much going on to keep track of, really being due to some incompatible styles being played against each other in unsuccessful experiment. A few songs incorporate lead guitars well into their sound, such as the second and fourth tracks and the instrumental in which they take on a more significant role, but 'Few and Far Between' is spoiled by a particularly ceaseless and overly repetitive guitar melody. The bass can only really be heard in the instrumental (it seems they're between bass players right now), but this isn't really an issue, and Juhana Karlsson's drums almost entirely fall back on the machine gun style that keeps all of these death metal albums consistent, if a little lacking in character. The power metal keyboards are similar to the guitars, in that sometimes they add a pleasant lighter side to the heavy music, but occasionally play an irritating, jingling melody that really gets on my nerves; despite the apparent invitation to indulge in cheesy theatrics in the instrumental, titled as it is 'Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Fun,' they play it with straight professionalism and come off well.
'Reptile Ride' is another run-of-the-mill melodic death metal album that doesn't try anything too extreme, but could fill in as a reasonable substitute when your more impressive death metal albums become a little stale. At least Amoral have the right idea when it comes to combining elements in this fashion.
1. Leave Your Dead Behind
2. Nervasion
3. Hang Me High
4. Mute
5. Few and Far Between
6. Snake Skin Saddle
7. D Drop Bopo
8. Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Fun
9. Pusher
Advantages: Competent melodic death metal without the rubbish bits.
Disadvantages: Rather bland all the same.
Amorphis
The Karelian Isthmus
****
Written on 15.01.08
Amorphis' debut album establishes their distinct Finnish style of melodic death metal that would be expanded on in their definitive follow-up 'Tales from the Thousand Lakes,' but is spoiled a little by poor production values and extensive borrowing from other bands, however coincidental it may be - after twenty years of heavy metal, you're bound to run into some coincidences.
As one of the pioneering melodic death metal bands of their day, before disappointingly leaving the metal world far behind, Amorphis' take on the blended style incorporates interesting and enjoyable nuances of the local folk tradition, though thankfully this mainly extends to the catchy rhythms of the drums and lead guitar rather than the more oppressive and daft excesses of polka metal a la Finntroll. This exotic flair, enhanced by the folkloric themes, would be more successfully realised in the second album, as 'The Karelian Isthmus' is still essentially rooted in a traditional death metal formula, consciously incorporating the slower tempo and harmonic guitar styles of classic heavy metal and thrash, the similarities to Iron Maiden and Slayer ('The Lost Name of God') being respectively apparent on various melodic and heavier offerings. That's not to say that the band lacks originality however, with Koivusaari and Holopainen's guitars spawning a series of excellent, highly memorable riffs in every song.
An unfortunate major concern comes in the album's production quality, which really isn't all it could be, owing to their fresh presence on the metal scene. The sound is generally quite muddy, far above the quality of a home-produced demo tape - the instruments are all distinct and you can actually hear the bass, for a start - but still not quite matching up to the band's ambitions, something that's especially obvious in the heavier songs like 'Black Embrace' and the otherwise excellent 'The Pilgrimage,' where the crunching guitars and dull drums lack a certain intensity. As has been demonstrated on countless raw black metal albums however, fuzzy production still lends a characteristic grind to the guitar tone that works well as a darker counterpart of American thrash, and the prominent lead guitars that dominate many of the slower tracks avoid being inappropriately high and weak, which can be a major failing of melodic death bands that screw up the delicate balance between heavy music with lighter touches and a mere Iron Maiden sound-alike with rasping vocals (see the sliding career of In Flames over the course of the nineties for the definitive example).
Koivusaari's vocals fall into the range of death metal growl that has always pleased me the most, not being overly hostile or ludicrously guttural, but effectively being a more or less comparable down-tuning of the traditional mid-range rock/metal singing style to correspond to the deeper tone of the other instruments. This does of course mean that he rarely stands out, and is consistently overshadowed by the fine instrumental collaboration between the two distinct guitar styles (often playing against each other in perfect use of the two players), bass guitar that becomes particularly prominent when both guitars are off doing their thing, and Rechberger's slap-happy drums that would best be described as fun, within reason. The band skilfully shifts to and fro between their customary medium speed and faster, more energetic bursts - in the case of the thrashy finale, lasting for an entire song - and many tracks remain distinctive enough to remember after a single listen.
On the negative side, Amorphis' range is still a little limited on this release, perhaps signalling their dissatisfaction with the style that wasn't long coming, and I was a little disappointed that after hearing entertaining traces of a particular Iron Maiden guitar melody in 'Warrior's Trial,' the sound was repeated in a more or less plagiarised form two songs later. This is all forgivable for being a first album, and one of the pioneering works of a burgeoning sub-genre, and thanks their unfortunate career change, this still remains their second-best album.
1. Karelia
2. The Gathering
3. Grail's Mysteries
4. Warrior's Trial
5. Black Embrace
6. Exile of the Sons of Uisliu
7. The Lost Name of God
8. The Pilgrimage
9. Misery Path
10. Sign from the North Side
11. Vulgar Necrolatry
Amorphis
Privilege of Evil
*****
Written on 15.01.08
'Privilege of Evil' is a very interesting, almost hidden gem in the early discography of Amorphis, important not only for the band itself but for Finnish metal and wider death metal as whole, due to its lasting legacy. It's really quite surprising that this sound followed 'The Karelian Ithmus,' which was an interesting and enjoyable album in a slow and attempted epic fashion that wouldn't really sound credible until the subsequent album, but this takes a drastically opposite direction in reaching firmly for the violent and brutal side of early nineties death metal.
The speed here varies between Amorphis' typical slower tempo and a more aggressive, thrashy direction, and the songs are about as different as can be in the band's early style, even veering into a gore direction with the tellingly titled 'Vulgar Necrolatry,' featuring a guest vocal performance Abhorrence's Jukka Kolehmainen. The band is at its very best here from a technical point of view, Tomi and Esa's guitars conveying a wide range of styles and emotions with more success than most death bands, and Tomi's vocals avoiding the irritating screeching or overly hostile mannerisms of his contemporaries, relying primarily on a satisfying growl everyone can enjoy (can't they?)
This is a classic E.P. that will especially surprise those whose familiarity with Amorphis is limited to their later, softer releases, but even those who regularly listen to the epic, fable-inspired doom of 'Tales From the Thousand Lakes,' which is all but absent here apart from in the couple of songs repeated from the first album. This would have made an incredible album, but as a twenty-five minute E.P. of six songs it's not exactly on the short side, and its comparative (but not genuine) rarity and obscurity lends it an exaggerated sense of the exotic.
1. Pilgrimage from Darkness
2. Black Embrace
3. Privilege of Evil
4. Misery Path
5. Vulgar Necrolatry
6. Excursing from Existence
Amorphis
*****
Written on 15.01.08
Amorphis' second album is a refinement of the first and one of the classics of melodic death metal, and sadly remains their last predominantly metal achievement before deviating into other areas foreshadowed by the clean vocal touches and electronic aspects of this album. As with 'The Karelian Isthmus,' the music is gloomy, a tad epic and uniquely exotic, the guitars seemingly taking influence from the Finnish folk tradition or at least something that marks them out as distinctive from the other, mostly Swedish melodic death pioneers. While the vocals continue to growl in a less aggressive way than many death metal bands, this is enhanced by the addition of distinctive clean singing in tracks two, five and seven before they take over fully in the chanting instrumental 'To Father's Cabin.' Coupled with the prominence of keyboards, both in a spacey tone and less agreeable Hammond organs that don't so much enhance the mood as shatter it, this is atmospheric and relatively soothing melodic death metal that avoids most of the pitfalls of the genre.
While some of the songs still fail to stand out compared to their neighbours, there are enough memorable riffs here, infused with an Eastern twang, to mark out the finer tracks, and while 'First Doom' seemed to be lacking only a prominent chorus, this is subsequently provided in the next track, the melodic and grand 'Black Winter Day.' The instrumental side of the album is granted sufficient release for indulgence in the second half of most songs without them ever seeming too long, and this leads to more diverse and inventive songs such as 'The Castaway' and 'Forgotten Sunrise,' the latter of which is heaven for fans of slow and thoughtful guitar solos.
While it doesn't plunge too deeply into the emotive excesses of doom metal, this is quite a sad and mournful album, enhanced by the violin-like keys of 'In the Beginning,' but most songs such as 'Drowned Maid' will maintain a steady and approachable drum rhythm to keep things from becoming too self-involved. In fact, the only real time the album slips up is in the finale 'To Magic and Mayhem,' which experiments with some really irritating techno elements that dissipate the atmosphere so effectively built up over the course of the album, though this does at least make it easier to get out of the chair and go on with your day than if the proceedings had ended on a high note and left the listener wanting more of the same from a band that would never be this good again.
1. Thousand Lakes
2. Into Hiding
3. The Castaway
4. First Doom
5. Black Winter Day
6. Drowned Maid
7. In the Beginning
8. Forgotten Sunrise
9. To Father's Cabin
10. Magic and Mayhem
Amorphis
Black Winter Day
**
Written on 15.01.08
After the fantastic death metal performance of 'Privilege of Evil,' it seemed Amorphis were focusing more on the polished, epic side of things for their full-length albums while allowing themselves freedom to unleash some violent and experimental death metal in the shorter releases, though this single-album trend unfortunately stops dead here. Released in the interim between Amorphis' earlier death metal days and the melodic rock of their subsequent efforts, this makes for a less than comfortable listening experience partly for the contrasting styles, and also because the material is just so weak.
'Black Winter Day' starts things off well, and this is essentially an extended single release of that song, one of the more memorable and certainly the most accessible of the previous full-length 'Tales from the Thousand Lakes.' It showcases pretty much everything Amorphis was about in the early days, though without the harsher side that's thankfully rekindled for a last outing in the later tracks here, but it fares less well when separated from the album in this way. It's commendable that the band didn't simply fill the remainder of this E.P. with further 'Tales' material or tedious re-mixes, but the original material on offer here is of considerably inferior quality to the albums, something usually expected of B-side material but disappointing considering the quality of the band's output thus far.
The three tracks essentially form the 'Moon and Sun' suite, the short instrumental 'Folk of the North' effectively being a brief intro as it's referenced later on, and while it's satisfying at first to hear the older, more raw and dingy death metal of 'The Karelian Ithmus' revived, this proves even less satisfying than even that album's weakest material, leading me to believe it's an unused piece that's been gathering dust for some time. Kasper Martenson is the leading force across this "trilogy," his piano-styled keyboards replacing Esa Holopainen's guitars on occasion and foreshadowing the band's subsequent change of direction, but in the end it's all a lot less satisfying than should be expected of an early-nineties Amorphis epic. It's forgivable as something of a sidelined release outside of their main discography, and it makes a nice collector's piece (especially with that nice owl cover, a little reminiscent of Rush), but it's about as non-essential as Amorphis gets. I'm just glad I don't have the vinyl version where Tomi Koivusaari butchers The Doors' 'Light My Fire.'
1. Black Winter Day
2. Folk of the North
3. Moon and Sun
4. Moon and Sun Pt. II: North's Son
Amorphis
Elegy
****
Written on 15.01.08
Having proved their death/doom metal credentials with 'Tales from the Thousand Lakes,' Finland's Amorphis boldly (and questionably) opted for a rather drastic change of pace over the course of their subsequent albums, at its most effective in the first offering of their new style, 'Elegy.' Rather than the epic folk tales of the Kalevala that had worked so well for the band in the past, inspiration this time turns to the poems of the Kanteletar, one of the ingredients for a potentially more moving and emotionally resonant album, and a promise that 'Elegy' delivers on to some extent.
There are very few death metal traces remaining here outside of Tomi Koivusaair's occasional growls and his faster guitar performances alongside newcomer Esa Holopainen that nevertheless forsake any real heaviness, and the band seems to draw most of its inspiration here from classic progressive rock, without much of its trademark excess; the only sections of the album that qualify as genuinely strange are the more folk-based jig sections that end up being some of the most worthwhile and entertaining creative decisions indulged in. While the new prog direction will doubtless annoy less open-minded fans of the band's earlier material (I guess that includes me, then), their pop transformation is still incomplete and this album boasts some of the band's finest material, albeit in a smaller proportion than something like 'Tales' or 'Privilege of Evil.'
For a start, it's primarily the song 'Cares' that still proves Amorphis has what it takes as a metal band, and that their evolution is a creative choice rather than a lapse. This song is faster, as are a couple of others such as 'Against Widows' and 'Relief,' and the vocals are surprisingly and very noticeably performed by Koivusaair's growling alone. 'My Kantele' was the album's prominent single and is justly accomplished, beginning with death vocals and gradually evolving into the lighter, sung second half, and it deserves extra credit for not standing out as jarringly and unsatisfyingly as an Amorphis single could perhaps be expected at this point. Its acoustic companion tagged onto the album's end makes for a nice furtherance of the style and a different perspective, but I prefer the peasant wail of light electric guitar leads.
For all of these fun and engaging songs, it's the gloom of 'Elegy' that works the best for me, more grief-stricken and compelling than any of the doom attempts from 'Tales,' and genuinely progressive to boot. It's a shame Amorphis didn't opt to focus more exclusively on a doom direction from this point on, rather than being absorbed into more mainstream rock as happened around this point for the bands that started out as death-based doom (most prominently Anathema and Katatonia, and obviously Amorphis itself), but the change of direction earned them an entirely new fan base across a successful career while those that despised it can still find satisfaction in the early albums. Everyone's a winner really, it makes you wonder why I complain so much.
1. Better Unborn
2. Against Widows
3. The Orphan
4. On Rich and Poor
5. My Kantele
6. Cares
7. Song of the Troubled One
8. Weeper on the Shore
9. Elegy
10. Relief
11. My Kantele (Acoustic Reprise)
Amorphis
Tuonela
***
Written on 15.01.08
Amorphis is a band that consistently surprises me, not only for its drastic changes of direction with every album, but the talent that comes with it. I expected to severely dislike 'Tuonela,' and while I'm admittedly not as fond of its keyboard-driven, atmospheric rock direction compared to the guitar-heavy 'Elegy' and the death metal of their older releases, it's suitably progressive for my tastes. Any metal fans lured by the promise of its title, the Finnish folkloric equivalent of hell, will be sorely disappointed by their most inoffensively pleasant album yet.
Although a blander and typically nineties form of prog, the music here still takes plenty of influence from the classic era of the seventies, with diverse instruments working their way into the mix as the band sadly leaves their slight folk roots almost entirely behind, salvaged only in the flute sections of 'Rusty Moon' and 'Nightfall,' the latter of which is the album's most inherently experimental offering and the appearance of classic prog saxophone, which would have sounded positively bizarre in any previous album. Amorphis' metal days are now firmly left in the past, with only Tomi Koivusaari's growl in 'Greed' showing any signs to newcomers that this band may not be what it seems. Pasi Koskinen now handles almost the entire album's singing duties, and although his voice is fairly good in that medium-range, emotional way, it sounds a little showy to me at times.
There's nothing particularly wrong with this album, but it fails to really hold my interest even as an atmospheric rock effort, especially compared to some superior bands out there, and the emphasis on maintaining a stream of sound rather than cracking out some great riffs and stuff is the main reason there are very few stand-out songs, the exceptions being the aforementioned 'Nightfall' for its slight zaniness, 'Rusty Moon,' opener 'The Way' which starts things off promisingly, and closer 'Summer's End' which works nicely to draw things to a close.
After years of considering Amorphis to be one of those great metal bands that wimped out and strayed into a disappointing commercial direction, I've come to regard them as a satisfyingly varied outfit with a number of very different successes across their discography. But still one that was best off doing metal, as recent trends harking back to the good old days would seem to indicate. All the same, the people who love this album won't find another as good in their catalogue.
1. The Way
2. Morning Star
3. Nightfall
4. Tuonela
5. Greed
6. Divinity
7. Shining
8. Withered
9. Rusty Moon
10. Summer's End
Amorphis
My Kantele
Kanteletar
***
Written on 16.01.08
Amorphis had a habit of releasing an E.P. after each of their early albums, made up of existing album material and off-cuts, and while 'My Kantele' doesn't break any new ground in the style of 'Privilege of Evil,' the material and covers are a lot more satisfying than its predecessor 'Black Winter Day.' Again, the major emphasis is placed on the most potentially radio-friendly song from the related album, in this case 'My Kantele,' and the rest of the material acts as an extended single that fortunately doesn't fall back on tedious re-mixes or basic live extracts, but makes for a wholly enjoyable listen, even if it's again quite obvious why the B-sides were never A-sides.
'My Kantele' is one of the better Amorphis songs produced after their departure from a death/doom metal direction, and the acoustic interpretation takes this one step further, sounding as natural as the album's original electric version. It's primarily the guitars that are replaced, the rest of the instruments remaining albeit in a slightly dulled fashion, and with its haunting tone and elements of classic prog rock and folk (a Hammond organ and an accordion respectively), it's a sign of a band still dedicated to the cultural heritage that had played such a major part in their early days. The Finnish folk tradition continues in the two-part 'The Brother-Slayer,' this E.P.'s version of Black Winter Day's 'Moon and Sun,' which is better than that predecessor but still not up to the standards of 'Elegy,' and after this come two interesting and highly deviant covers that see the band branch out further into prog territory by covering classic Hawkwind material and a song from their Finnish contemporaries Kingston Wall, that sounds a lot better and more restrained than that band's later material with which I'm more familiar.
An E.P. doesn't need to boast the same consistency as an album, and is in some ways a means for a band to mess around or throw out some extras for the fans that would clash with a more reputable full-length recording, and for containing an accessible album track, slightly obtuse B-sides and random covers, 'My Kantele' is just about the most stereotypical E.P. in existence. Its only real failing is that the acoustic version of its title song had already been included as standard at the end of the 'Elegy' album, which serves to rob this release of much of its charm and individuality and could have easily been remedied to make it more collectable and essential for fans. Never mind; taken in its own merits it's still a strong Amorphis release and, proportionally speaking, their most heavily folk- and prog-based offering.
1. My Kantele (acoustic reprise)
2. The Brother-Slayer
3. The Lost Son (The Brother-Slayer Part II)
4. Levitation (Hawkwind cover)
5. And I Hear You Call (Kingston Wall cover)
Advantages: Interesting covers and a more prog/folk side shining through.
Disadvantages: Acoustic version was already on the album, and the rest isn't brilliant.
Amorphis
Story: 10th Anniversary
****
Written on 16.01.08
Ten years is as good enough excuse for a best-of as any, and with four acclaimed albums and other material under their Finnish belts, the (presumably) belt-wearing Finns of Amorphis provide this little present for the fans of Amorphis who may be wearing belts or not. The whole belt thing isn't really important and I don't want to get dragged into this debate too much, but there's a not a lot else to say about a pretty standard and unexciting compilation such as this.
The most commendable thing about this release is the fair overview it provides, stretching as far back as the first album with several choice morsels plucked therefrom, rather than merely concentrating on the very different material from the most recent 'Tuonela.' It's the diversity of Amorphis' albums that makes a collection such as this both fascinating and difficult, as eras are dipped in and out of in a more or less random fashion, one second with a heavy death metal riff and growling from Tomi Koivusaari, the next light atmospheric rock under Pasi Koskinen. Only the most dedicated Amorphis fans will find no flaws with the album, but for everyone else it's likely to be a case of favouring one extreme over the other. In the interests of fairness, whoever compiled the album has tried to ease the transition by taking the most songs from the 'Elegy' album, which wasn't exactly transitional itself but was at least a more honest middle-ground tilted in favour of the newer style, but possessing a few of the metal elements along with the folk aspects of the earlier releases.
Amorphis' discography boasts a number of E.P.s running alongside the main album lineage, and the lack of much material from these shorter releases is understandable, as they were mainly comprised of B-sides and covers, along with a song already present on the longer album that preceded it. Only 'The Brother-Slayer' is a cut from Elegy's 'My Kantele' companion, and it balances out the acoustic folk rock side of things quite nicely despite not being one of the better choices, but the biggest disappointment for me comes in the lack of any material from the excellent and highly individual 'Privilege of Evil' released between the first two albums in 1993. While the furious death metal might have upset the more casual listeners of this album, its significance and oddness in the Amorphis chronology demands inclusion on a collection such as this, at the very least as a sampling of further rarities for fans to go out and buy. 'Black Winter Day' is similarly overlooked, but I can't disagree with that decision.
The only offering present for long-time fans is a live version of 'Cares,' one of the best songs from 'Elegy' and the one that bridges the divide between old and new Amorphis most successfully, but the rest of the collection faces the usual problems of any collected work like this: favourite songs are missing, and some that were more significant representations of the band are ditched in favour of songs that only prove the same points already made. With sixteen songs from four albums (and one E.P.) it's a decent collection of Amorphis material and more than enough as a sampler for newcomers to decide which path to venture down next, but with many further albums and the twentieth anniversary only a couple of years away now, 'Stories' was only ever destined for a short shelf life before being consigned to the fate of a less significant collector's item.
1. Black Winter Day
2. Against Widows
3. Tuonela
4. Grail's Mysteries
5. The Castaway
6. My Kantele
7. The Way
8. The Brother-Slayer
9. The Orphan
10. Exile of the Sons of Uisliu
11. On Rich and Poor
12. Divinity
13. The Gathering
14. Drowned Maid
15. Summer's End
16. Cares (Live)
Amorphis
Am Universum
***
Written on 16.01.08
If 'Tuonela' was the point of no return for metal-band-turned-prog-rock Amorphis, 'Am Universum' is merely a disappointing continuation of that same style that mainly serves to highlight just how good they used to be when they didn't sound like this. It's not necessarily a problem that Amorphis has ceased to be a metal band, especially as it opens them up to a new audience, but the prog rock direction is a lot less inspiring - particularly as the band's record label and image still seem to be implying something a little more hardcore.
The music is now dominated by the duet between Pasa Koskinen's singing and Santeri Kallio's keyboards, as everyone else takes a significant back seat. The introduction of Sakari Kukko's saxophone helps the prog atmosphere along, and is quite interesting, but still doesn't make up for the lack of decent guitar riffs or leads from the formerly excellent Tomi Koivusaari and Esa Holopainen duo. Without Koivusaari's backing growls to spur him on, Koskinen is more content to maintain a soft and distinctly dull singing style throughout, which even manages to be pretty annoying even in the best songs like 'Alone,' where his gravelly whine reminds me of that bloke who voiced Leonardo in the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' and Kaneda in 'Akira' (who am I kidding, I know his name's Cam Clarke).
In fact, 'Alone' is the best song by far, and was the easy choice of single due to its more powerful style and the actual presence of guitars, but it was a mistake to place it so early in the album to raise listeners' expectations of what the following forty minutes are going to sound like. 'Am Universum' isn't a bad album, though it certainly is by Amorphis' high standards, but it's not particularly interesting, and the dominant vocal whine even prevents it from being very successful relaxation music. Of all the bands that started out metal, then deviated into bland atmospheric rock directions, Amorphis are still among the least worst.
1. Alone
2. Goddess (Of the Sad Man)
3. The Night is Over
4. Shatters Within
5. Crimson Wave
6. Drifting Memories
7. Forever More
8. Veil of Sin
9. Captured Stake
10. Grieve Stricken Heart
Amorphis
Chapters
****
Written on 16.01.08
You know a band's getting a little desperate when they release two similar best-of compilations within three years, increasingly demonstrating how much better they used to be in the good old days. While 'Story' was a self-proclaimed '10th Anniversary' release in 2000, 'Chapters' is the first to feature new material from the disappointing 'Am Universum' album and the first to arrange all of the songs in reverse chronological order to offer a true retrospective. So that makes it justified, obviously.
While I can't condone such obvious cash-in releases, this can't help but be a very interesting album thanks to the inclusion of much of Amorphis' finest and extremely varied work, entirely from the first three to four albums before they lost it. As with 'Story,' there's no attempt to privilege the more recent works against older material, and in fact there are three songs from the first three albums compared to only two each from the more recent releases. The 2003 studio album 'Far From the Sun' was released less than a month before this collection, and the lack of any brand new material from that studio lack-of-effort is either due to commercial considerations, or simply taste. I'd hope for the latter, and it at least means listeners are spared pickings from the weakest Amorphis release to date. While 'Story' seemed a little pre-emptive at covering a band with only four major releases under its belt, 'Chapters' is more entertaining at five.
Amorphis' musical career can be tellingly followed in a backwards fashion here, and anyone who misinterprets the song styles moving on from bland atmospheric prog rock through to folk-influenced prog metal and even some good old-fashioned death metal at the end as the true career path of Amorphis is sadly being optimistic. As a fan of the earlier works I clearly favour the latter half of the album, though the stuff from 'Elegy' and 'Tuonela' is still very good (if a bit obviously chosen), and perhaps wary of angering fans by re-selling songs they already own, a few choice B-sides are tactfully inserted along the way, though these were all previously available on singles or E.P.s attached to the respective albums. 'Too Much to See' is from the most recent Am Universum era ('Alone' single), 'Northern Lights' is from Tuonela ('Divinity' single), 'The Brother-Slayer' harks from Elegy's 'My Kantele,' and 'Moon and Sun' is from the ancient 'Black Winter Day' release. None of these are particularly good as they're fairly representative of what B-sides are all about; stuff that sounds similar to the album material, but not as good. The compilation suffers as a result.
But let's not despair, there's a second disc of five Amorphis music videos that are alright, though not particularly enchanting (and nothing you can't just watch on YouTube these days), and the main interest here comes in the acoustic version of 'My Kantele.' Although this is a better and more skilfully arranged collection than the hasty and short-lived 'Story,' my major complaint with that earlier release is even more relevant here in the face of all these B-sides: where on earth is the 'Privilege of Evil' material? That early E.P. is one of the most essential Amorphis releases for metal fans, and would have caused a nice stir towards the end amidst the dinginess of 'The Karelian Ithmus.' No matter; Pasi Koskinen would leave Amorphis before the next studio album, which adds further relevance to this collection as a concluding summary of his time in the band, and the frankly better stuff they produced before he even came along.
1. Alone (edit)
2. Drifting Memories
3. Too Much to See
4. The Way
5. Northern Lights
6. Summer's End
7. The Brother-Slayer
8. Better Unborn
9. My Kantele
10. Weeper on the Shore
11. Moon and Sun
12. Black Winter Day
13. The Castaway
14. Drowned Maid
15. Warrior's Trial
16. Exile of the Sons of Uisliu
17. The Lost Name of God
Amorphis
Eclipse
****
Written on 17.01.08
Amorpis' first album with new frontman Tomi Joutsen sees a long-awaited return to their melodic death metal origins, while not abandoning their more recent forays into a mainstream style of gothic prog rock. Although the contrast is often extreme, songs like 'Perkele (God of Fire)' sounding exactly like 'Tales from the Thousand Lakes' material while 'House of Sleep' sounds more like effeminate goth band HIM, 'Eclipse' is a step in the right direction for Amorphis even if it's not really clear where the next step will end up.
Esa Holopainen's guitars reclaim all their former glory here in the memorable mid-speed melodies of most songs, exploring acoustic territory on numerous occasions in the slower, near-ballad songs that comprise roughly half of the album and adopting folk, Eastern and Celtic influence respectively in three of the best songs, 'Leaves Scar,' 'Perkele' and 'Brother Moon,' while remaining satisfyingly simple in the heavy and plodding 'Two Moons.' Joutsen's vocal style is equally compelling, mostly opting for a croon similar to Southern United States stoner rock bands (complete with unnecessary indoor sunglasses) but experimenting with a long-unheard death growl in tracks three, six and nine. This doesn't necessarily make those songs heavier though, and 'Brother Moon' in particular incorporates the growl into its melodic doom style in a manner that's barely noticeable.
As always with Amorphis, even the slowest and most thoughtful songs are provided a catchy and accessible drum beat at some point to keep them from becoming too indulgent, and the use of additional instruments such as flutes in 'Leaves Scar' and various keyboard styles keep each song individual and potentially interesting to fans of progressive rock. True to the Amorphis of old, the album once again draws on the Finnish epic the Kalevala for its lyrical concept, this time concerning the tragic fate of Kullervo. The ambition never exceeds the musical content apart from perhaps in the slightly overlong finale 'Empty Opening,' which bears similarities in its vocal stylings and staggered, reggae-style guitars to Finnish prog band Kingston Wall, but balanced out by the simple stoner rock of the opening song, several soft offerings and a couple of old-school melodic death/doom pieces to please the long-time fans, this is a surprising and excellent release from the Finns as they re-enter the metal community.
1. Two Moons
2. House of Sleep
3. Leaves Scar
4. Born from Fire
5. Under a Soil and Black Stone
6. Perkele (The God of Fire)
7. The Smoke
8. Shame Flesh
9. Brother Moon
10. Empty Opening
Tori Amos
Crucify E.P.
**
Written on 15.01.08
There you go, I'm reviewing a pop album of a woman singing at a piano. I have to shake things up a bit every so often to artificially keep from being predictable and anyway, it's not so different from some of the more loosely-defined "metal" albums I've reviewed recently. And I wasn't only attracted to it by the sight of an apparently nude woman wearing a spring onion necklace and nothing else on the cover, because I don't have a vegetable fetish, definitely. Look at that coquettish smirk, she knows what she's doing, the North Carolinese minx.
This E.P. is essentially an extended single of the song 'Crucify,' presented in a remixed form that I don't have an original to corroborate, one of many examples of the singer-songwriter-pianist's seeming indifference to having her works endlessly messed around with in pursuit of commercial gain. I could make a sexist joke with the word pianist as its centre, but I shan't bother. Of the four other songs, 'Winter' is taken straight from the 'Little Earthquakes' album, and the other three are all covers of famous songs by famous bands, a particularly pointless endeavour. The sound across these twenty-one minutes is fairly consistent piano-based pop of the soft and inoffensive kind, the first two songs having a more consciously catchy, sing-along edge and enhancement through background orchestration making them ideally suited for poaching by Hollywood, and the final three songs are more isolated, bleak affairs between a woman and her piano, trying to inject deeper meaning into rock songs that were all good enough in the first place.
Tori Amos' distinctive voice is what carries the listener through these pieces, over her occasionally expressive but mostly unimaginative piano accompaniment. The first is bound to be the most polarising, with those unsuited to pop such as myself finding its more sing-along moments grating rather than inspiring, but it's a reasonable song that essentially repeats itself over without embellishment after the half-way point, for those who fancied another lap.
The rest of the album tends more towards a predominantly thoughtful tone, and her voice experiments to a degree after presumably feeling a little intimidated by the subtle choir presence in the second song, leading to brief higher sections on the Rolling Stones' 'Angie' and all-out squeaking in Led Zeppelin's 'Thank You,' making the finale noticeably less relaxing than its predecessors and demanding attention the way opera singers do, though less bombastically. Her piano playing is most enjoyable in the downbeat 'Winter,' which is at least her own material, using the high and low ranges with equal and distinct measure, before fading into the background later on. This album clearly strives for a melancholy mood without being too severe, and although it's generally successful, songs like 'Angie' tend to become more or less background music through their subtlety.
Of course, as a modern rock fan, it's Amos' cover of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' that provides the greatest interest here, and is predictably disappoints in quite an enormous way. It's obvious what she's gone for, but covering the most iconic rock song of the time, itself only released the previous year, demands something pretty special to have any impact, something this lacks entirely. The sparse, lonely atmosphere remains from the previous song, which is about the only positive thing it has going for it, beginning with an unrecognisable piano melody that she's either made up from scratch or adapted from the original guitar and drums to unsuccessful effect, and only raising awareness that it's a cover once some of Kurt Cobain's familiar lyrics drift in on the wistful, wordy breeze. It's all too easy to envisage this slow and quiet take on the song being played over a blandly sentimental slideshow of black and white images of the dead singer in various states of depression (he still had a couple of years left in him at this point), and the lyrics really don't adapt well to the radical change in style. Not only is a little disappointing to finally hear those slurred words being clearly articulated, but without the manic delivery there are some key segments that fall completely flat, leaving a woman playing a piano saying "hello" a few times. A non-essential release at best, and offensive at worst.
1. Crucify (Remix)
2. Winter
3. Angie (The Rolling Stones cover)
4. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana cover)
5. Thank You (Led Zeppelin cover)
The line-up for this band is fittingly unusual, featuring a wildly unnecessary three bassists, two of which play guitars most of the time but presumably double up in the studio. The enigmatically named Guy limits himself to vocals, an area for which the album is certainly notable even when failing to account for taste, and Régine handles all of the prominent keyboards. Unlike similarly cheap underground bands, the substitution of a drum machine for a real drummer is quite painfully and irritatingly obvious throughout, which detracts from the purity and intensity of the songs and brings them dangerously close to industrial territory. For this weird release, the band also drafted in a couple of bad actors (or perhaps played the roles themselves) whose dialogue opens and closes the majority of songs, while serving to spoil what little there is to enjoy in the middle.
Not being fluent in French even to the smallest degree I was left completely in the dark as to whether these were separate encounters, or part of a larger conceptual story interweaving throughout the juvenile angry music, but as foreign language has never obstructed my enjoyment of European metal before, I decided to let it pass. Doubtless a French speaker would get a lot more from the album, though the amateurish performances and rather silly sense of humour would likely yield a disappointing result; perhaps ignorance is bliss and less is indeed more in this instance. So on to the songs...
1. Capillo Tractum
2. Cook of Revelations
3. 4PQ 2WC
4. Black Metal Uten Strev
5. Lord of the Strings
6. M666 – Télévision Bizarre
7. Seventh Son of Massey Fergusson (live)
8. Henry Death
9. La Soupe aux Choux
10. Tof
11. Melissa
12. Das Gross Rigolad
When the band desists from messing around with sound effects, delays and badly recorded spoken word pieces, the music is rather traditional black metal in the speedy and aggressive style, varying little from song to song with only the occasional interesting riff or change, all of which sound generically derivative in any case. The drums are always right at the front of the aural experience which is a shame as their mechanical, clicking nature is quite distracting, giving the whole thing less of a raw, cousin’s-garage quality than most low-budget releases in the genre, and the guitars and basses are subsequently forced to grind away fuzzily in the background. Guy’s vocals are the most interesting and varied feature, moving through almost his full range from gurgled brutal-death-metal-style growls to black metal shrieks and unison punk yells in the anthemic opening song (and going through several languages as he does so) before completing the set with a clean vocal approach in softer passages of later songs. While some songs such as ‘M666,’’Henry Death’ and ‘Melissa’ offer a fairly straightforward black metal assault, the rest of the album at least strives to offer something different and unique, even if that does mostly extend to overlong passages of French blokes laughing or random xylophone filler to further prove their ‘avant-garde’ credentials.
The better songs tend to be the slightly longer ones, as the band clearly put some more effort into justifying the extended lengths. ‘Cook of Revelations’ features some nice, if primitive piano work that evolves into Cradle of Filth-style horror organs as the song continues before ending with a nice mock-classical coda, and the vocal performance accompanies it on this journey from spoken word to a really deep and growly central section, culminating in a nice Viking metal-inspired chant, though all the same I could do without the stupid duck quacking sound effect. The mock-epic ‘Lord of the Strings’ (this is the level of humour we’re dealing with here) actually succeeds in sounding rather grand and important, featuring some more piano and a dominant bagpipe that is commendable for playing something that doesn’t sound Scottish. Even when the inevitable metal arrives at around the half-way point, it’s restricted to a slower and more methodical gallop than a blasting assault, which serves to preserve the atmosphere, whatever exactly that is supposed to be. ‘La Soupe aux Choux’ acts as a rather pleasant, flute-based (or at least, keyboard pretending to be a flute-based) lead-in to ‘Tof,’ which deserves credit for being perhaps the ‘straightest’ track on the album, and not a bad one in its successful use of alternating fast and slow sections.
Probably the best song here is the allegedly ‘live’ performance of ‘Seventh Son of Massey Fergusson,’ an obvious nod to Iron Maiden’s album and song of a slightly similar name, the narrative part of which is reproduced by the vocalist in a rare English performance towards the end of this song. The Iron Maiden influence extends to the overall sound of the song, though it’s anchored more in their earlier classic ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ with its tolling bells, slow build-up and melodic lead guitars, and I certainly prefer the slower and more careful approach to the all-out anger of the other songs. Despite its claims to the contrary, I seriously doubt this is a genuine live performance by this little-known band, particularly as the crowd response is fairly immense and over-enthusiastic, even to the extent of some screaming groupie types at fairly random intervals that sound slightly too close to the microphone to be genuine. Still, the false live sound adds to the atmosphere, even if the song gets a little dull for lack of serious ideas as it draws to a conclusion.
The most disappointing sections of the album musically speaking, as I’m not really able to comment on the lyrical or conceptual approach, are those in which the lyrical and conceptual approach become far too dominant at a cost to the music. ‘4PQ 2WC’ introduces the male and female vocals between some average black metal, accompanied by a toilet flush and a bad echo effect as if the whole thing was recorded in someone’s kitchen, before leading out with an acoustic section performed in mock white trash style, similar to Faith No More’s ‘RV’ only less good, and in French with an affected American accent. The very last song features no metal whatsoever, led by violins (or keyboard violin), and is entirely devoted to concluding the story, featuring the sound effect of smacking lips but really not offering anything to the non-French listener, and arguably very little even if you do understand it. By far the weirdest cut of the album is ‘Black Metal Uten Strev,’ in which the male and female take turns to seemingly repeat a phrase (with slight alterations each time), while a brief slab of generic black metal is hastily laid down in-between. This occurs eight consecutive times. I have no idea what’s going on.
‘Clock Me Jesus’ is an album that can’t help but entirely alienate foreign listeners, and its reliance on crafting a storyline through its twelve songs proves to be a drawback in this area. It’s not only that the whole thing’s in French; I have a great many such concept albums that allow the lyrics and storyline to impose far too much on the music (you can even see it happen to some extent on Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ and The Who’s rock operas), and it’s clear that this rather amateur job was trying to achieve too much without the talent and ability to see it through. The use of the numbers six and seven in the titles of those respective tracks indicate a clear focus on the ordering of songs, while I can only guess about the larger clock metaphor: there are twelve songs, corresponding to a clock face, and it seems that the band intended the album to last for exactly one hour in order to help prove their ‘point’ – they must have been dismayed to learn that it ends up coming in at fifty-nine seconds over an hour. In a way I quite enjoy being kept in the dark, and I certainly don’t expect bands such as this to translate their lyrics into English for the benefit of the few individuals who track them down from overseas – some of my favourite albums are even written in ancient and dead languages (I sound like someone trying to defend themselves from racism by name-dropping their black friends), but if that was the case, why are some of the titles in English?
Abitbollus are a very confusing and rather silly band who won’t satisfy fans of black metal, avant-garde music or concept albums, and I can only presume that they chose such an alphabetically beneficial band name to rope in suckers like me who have unwisely decided to go through their extensive music collection in alphabetical order. I am clearly insane, but not as insane as Guy and the guys.
Advantages: Some interesting ideas, and the whole thing is brimming with arguably misplaced enthusiasm.
Disadvantages: Weak drum machine, uninspired music and far too much emphasis on spoken word interludes.
Deceptive Awareness
Let's Finnish What We Started
***
Written on 21.09.07
Another year, another Finnish doom metal band that sounds pretty much the same as all the rest. The inappropriately named Ablaze in Hatred loyally follow the tradition of Swallow the Sun, Draconian, Saturnus and others in expressing a feeling of gloom typical to doom metal, but tinged with an overall lighter and more hopeful attitude than the inconsolable despair of English and Norwegian bands, and considering this is the young group’s first album it’s quite a fair forgery.
The seven songs that make up ‘Deceptive Awareness’ are all on the longish side, as expected from a musical genre that relies on slow, drawn-out passages rather than the energetic assaults of other heavy metal forms, but as all are kept under ten minutes, none fall into the trap of unreasonable longevity. Unfortunately, the energy does slow up considerably on some offerings, making this something of a chore to sit through in one sitting; as with all the best doom, it’s most suited to the loudest volume in the darkest, emptiest room you can find, preferably accompanied by a glass of whatever’s your personal poison that will most likely remain stationary and un-drunk as the gloomy trance possesses you for fifty minutes. The production job on this album is of the highest quality, surprising for the first release from a small band, and this makes the multiple layers of instruments even clearer in the more dominating sections, while enhancing the isolating minimalism of the quieter parts. Three of the band members form the bulk of Searing Meadow, a melodic death metal band that doubtless acts as a release for the anger that is never really present in this elegiac symphony (despite the band name to the contrary), meaning that this is kept as pure to Finnish doom as possible. This reliance on existing formulae is also its main downfall, as it brings nothing new to the repetitive genre.
The performances are all excellent, with the possible exception of Miska Lehtivuori’s bass guitar simply because it’s drowned out by the prominent guitars throughout, and Ablaze make excellent use of keyboards both as a lead instrument to add a lighter touch to some passages, and as a dominating background instrument in most of the songs that even works when absent in enhancing the contrast. Multi-talented Mika Ikonen provides the keyboard foundations while drafted session keyboardist Eve Kojo of MyGrain fills out the sound. Ikonen is also one of two guitarists, with Juhani Sanna, as well as the sole vocalist, relying entirely on a death metal growl that sounds similar to that of Opeth (and about ten thousand other imitators). Finally, Antti Hakkala’s drums set the all-important timing for these songs to prevent the other musicians from getting carried away and thinking they’re still playing death metal, varying his speed only occasionally and slightly, and communicating mostly through the pitter-pattering of the bass drum that stands out clearly in this recording.
1. Lost (The Overture)
2. When the Blackened Candles Shine
3. Howls Unknown
4. Constant Stillness
5. Ongoing Fall
6. To Breathe and to Suffocate
7. Closure of Life
It’s understandable, but a little disappointing all the same, that the three stand-out tracks of this album are all older songs left over from the demo, while the rest are inserted a little too self-consciously in-between to bulk this out to full length. ‘When the Blackened Candles Shine’ is rightfully targeted as the primary focus, after the pleasant but insubstantial introductory track that slowly introduces the instruments one by one against a synthesised backdrop, and it justifies its nine-minute length by remaining impressive, evocative and even changeable throughout. The tone is somewhere between the catchy gothic doom of Katatonia, the romantic harmony of Swallow the Sun and the grieving heaviness of My Dying Bride, and really takes on a character of its own as it progresses through excellent lead guitars and quieter vacuums before collecting itself together again for a final push through towards a satisfying conclusion. The lead and rhythm guitars are highly distinct and work against each other very well, particularly in the final section, and although it’s overly repetitive as most doom tends to be, it’s an excellent opener that gets all of the ingredients right, even down to the sparing use of vocals.
It’s a shame that the album’s finest offering is now behind us, but the rest maintains the tone and never slips up, only really disappointing in its failure to explore outside the tried-and-tested formula. ‘Howls Unknown’ is overly repetitive in a manner reminiscent of Katatonia, ‘Ongoing Fall’ starts heavy and ends with some pretty keyboards but fails to meet coherently in-between, and ‘Closure of Life’ seems like a mere re-tread of ‘Blackened Candles,’ featuring some impressive lead guitars but replicating the earlier song’s style and structure almost precisely, down to the substantial pause towards the end and subsequent resurgence. These three songs catch the band at its lowest and most uncreative point, and it’s surely not down to chance that they are inserted tactfully between the older, better pieces. ‘Constant Stillness’ stands out for breaking the style somewhat for several minutes, forsaking sweeping keyboards for bleak thunderstorm effects and slowing the tempo right down to the speed of funeral doom metal, the middle section of the song sounding much like Warning, only with a slow growl rather than a nasal Harlow singing voice. This song and the sixth, ‘To Breathe and to Suffocate,’ are the only real instances of anger audible on the recording, with heavier, louder guitars and even some instances of a black metal rasp replacing Ikonen’s usual growl.
As the three best songs have already been collected more concisely as the band’s first demo, I’d normally recommend tracking that down instead, except that it would certainly prove a far more demanding, thankless and expensive task than simply buying this from Amazon (they claim to have one in stock, but they’re probably lying). If the filler songs had been anything other than filler this would be an excellent performance worthy to stand alongside Swallow the Sun and Draconian, though perhaps on the third ‘bronze’ step compared to their respective gold and silvers, simply for being a shameless imitator; even the attractive gothic artwork replicates the style of Anathema’s album covers fifteen years earlier.
Everything about this has been done before, and better, but it’s always worth investing in some new doom just in case heartbreak, bereavement or premature cancellation of a favourite television programme are waiting round the corner. Ablaze in Hatred are less melodic than doom bands made up of girls, less depressing than ones made up of the middle-aged, and less savage than ones with a more explicit black metal base, so I wouldn’t recommend it as your suicide album; try something with a bit more hopelessness like Warning or Pantheist and let me know how you get on.
Advantages: Some great modern doom on the even-numbered songs.
Disadvantages: Some incredibly average modern doom in-between.
If Emotions Still Burn
Falkenbergers in Flames
***
Written on 22.09.07
Defunct melodic death metal band Ablaze My Sorrow (let’s call them Ablaze from now on) took three years to release their debut album on No Fashion Records, following two successful underground demos, and it’s a shame the band wasn’t snapped up sooner, allowing them to be recognised as another key factor in the melodic death explosion, rather than the quite-good Dark Tranquillity clone that metal fans ended up with. I haven’t heard the earlier demos, but if they sound anything like this – melodic, lead-guitar driven death metal – then they deserve a lot more praise than they have been accredited. Of course, it’s equally possible that Ablaze heard what Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Amon Amarth and others were releasing in 1995 to much acclaim, and hastily incorporated it into their recording session late that year.
‘If Emotions Still Burn’ is a relatively brief and simplistic album, but that is by no means a disadvantage. The eight songs collected here (plus a hidden track of equal legitimacy) showcase the founding principles of melodic death metal without attempting to show off or experiment in any way. A couple of the riff-centic songs mimic (however unintentionally) the sound Amon Amarth would base their entire career upon, and a brief folky acoustic section in the great second track can’t help but remind of In Flames during this era, but the predominant influence heard in the style and precise sound of the guitars comes directly from fellow Swedes Dark Tranquillity. The dominance of lead guitars as opposed to heavier riffs helps this album to stand out despite this similarity, especially as the other areas – bass, drums and especially the vocals – do much to distance the comparison, occasionally at a cost to the overall synchronicity.
Martin Qvist’s vocals are the most striking feature of this album, and will certainly serve to deter more people than they entice, though veteran death metal fans won’t find them a problem. Rather than growl along as is customary for these bands (at some cost to the vocalist’s distinctiveness), Qvist prefers instead to shriek with every ounce of strength he has (presumably at some cost to his vocal cords). The vocals teeter over the precipice that leads to emotive black metal along the lines of Burzum, whose torturous screams Qvist seems to emulate on rare occasions, but for the most part he does his job of grounding the quite harmonious and pretty album in clear, dirty death metal roots, along with Alex Bengtsson’s manic drumming. This isn’t the most original album ever recorded, but it earns points over the mass of replicated mediocrity that would spew forth from Gothenburg as the new millennium approached. Death metal purists will likely find it too clean, and more technically minded listeners may be disappointed with its simplicity and lack of overall structure, as all the songs simply cease at the end rather than drawing to a natural conclusion. I suppose I tend towards the latter description (not the former, thankfully; I can enjoy metal without it having to be br00tal), but viewed as a nice and unadulterated example of pure melodic death, I have no major issues with this release.
1. If Emotions Still Burn
2. The Rain That Falls...
3. Rise Above the Storming Sea
4. Denial (The Way of the Strong)
5. The Battle
6. My Last Journey
7. As I Face the Eternity
8. My Revenge to Come
As the stylised band font, brooding cover art and somewhat clichéd song titles may reveal, the lyrics of these songs mostly run along the typical lines of fantasy and romance that have been a staple of heavy metal since Judas Priest and Rainbow twenty years earlier. The fact that the lyrics are growled obviously reduces their impact to a large extent, as only the most astute listener will be able to make them out most of the time unless they have the booklet handy, but despite their oppressive prominence in the mix, the vocals clearly take a backseat to the great instrumentation of drummer Bengtsson and guitarist Magnus Carlsson. The album claims that contemporary band member Dennie Lindén performed the secondary guitar duties, but for some reason or other this claim is commonly disputed, and it appears that growler Qvist handled those responsibilities in the studio. The songs vary somewhat between attempts at sheer brutality and something more melodic, but most often meet somewhere in-between and continue to alternate and repeat throughout their comparatively short playing times.
The title track starts things off with a bang, wasting no time in sinking right into the death metal and throwing out a ton of impressive lead guitar melodies, the likes of which will become increasingly mundane as the album progresses, simply through overuse. Unlike some death bands (or at least those I’ve been listening to recently), these songs are mostly based on the traditional formula of verse-chorus, but without a guitar solo to interrupt and consume time towards the end, which is a bit of a shame as the guitarists are obviously talented, whatever their true identities. Where the first track contains some nice minimalist chanting after each chorus to help it stand out, something that would return more prominently in the final song, the second goes out of its way to remain memorable, and is probably the album’s finest offering for this reason. Beginning with some nice drum touches, in which Bengtsson takes us through the full range of his kit from double bass pedals to crashing cymbals, the song then turns into a sort of semi-folk death metal song, but without going too far down that line to break from the usual style. The acoustic sections seem to be taken straight from Dark Tranquillity’s ‘I Am the Grandeur of Melancholy Burning,’ but the lead guitar melody is so incredibly catchy and neo-folky that I can picture a group of idiots in stupid clothes prancing around a maypole in a merry jig. Ace! A great twin lead guitar section threatens to be a solo at two and a half minutes in, but to no avail.
‘Rise Above the Storming Sea’ is a more simplistic and repetitive affair, which isn’t a problem at this early point. It’s actually quite nice to be anchored to a main riff that returns towards the end, but on the whole this song sounds too derivative of In Flames, the lead guitar melodies in particular, which counts against it. The band is clearly trying out a few different styles without veering too far off the mark, and this time it’s 1980s thrash metal that gets a look in with some palm-muted riffs, which resurface to a greater degree in ‘The Battle.’ Actually one of the better songs, this tows the line between pure melodic death and the watered down “Iron Maiden with laryngitis” offerings that would soon clog its output, though the ’Maiden-influenced twin leads – almost, but not quite a guitar solo – fit nicely into the generally slower and more laid-back sound of this one. It’s clear that everyone in the band is enjoying themselves, from the audible bass spot of Anders Brorsson, heard often throughout the album but never really standing out, to Qvist’s enthusiastic bellowing of the final chorus reprise. Less notable is its predecessor ‘Denial,’ which offers something a little slower but entirely derivative of Amon Amarth, only weaker, something that also affects ‘My Revenge to Come.’
The latter half of the album isn’t entirely without merit, but the sound does become quite samey by the seventh and eight offerings, without providing the stand-out masterpieces that keep other albums entertaining throughout. ‘My Last Journey’ is the highlight of the second half, a song that borders on instrumental but is primarily concerned with giving listeners a great metal experience rather than showing off (still, a solo wouldn’t have gone amiss). Bengtsson is permitted to freestyle around his kit to some extent, and the main guitar lead is one of the best on the album, sounding quite similar to one Iron Maiden would later use for ‘No More Lies.’ There’s a nice shift half-way through into a slower, almost doom metal section as Qvist’s single verse is yelled in his customary way before vocal duties are handed over to guest Anne Albertsson. This doesn’t work as well as the band may have hoped, as she opts for (or was perhaps instructed to do) a spoken word delivery in a very flat and emotionless tone that makes her sound like a robot. It may sound a little insulting, but I actually had to check after listening that it was indeed a human woman’s voice and not some of that voice reproduction software as was used in the ‘Batman’ theme and on primitive computer games. It’s sadly all too clear that English is not Anne Albertsson’s first, or perhaps even second language. Anne returns very briefly in ‘As I Face the Eternity,’ but her appearance is limited enough not to spoil that otherwise bland and repetitive song of “girl kills self, man becomes sad, man kills self, they are together in hell.”
Ablaze My Sorrow’s debut album came too late to forge a mould, and was ultimately too derivative to break it. Whether or not a year or two would have made any difference to their success is debatable, but the Dark Tranquillity-esque sound that permeates this release had already been long established since the start of the decade by another band known as Dark Tranquillity. At thirty-eight minutes (three of which are silence), this isn’t the most enthralling or cost-effective musical experience a metal fan could subject themselves to, and the songs seem to be short due to lack of ideas and a desire to avoid repetition rather than a stab at short, sharp brutality, so it’s a shame a few more weren’t added to bulk it out a little. Then again, if the hidden track is anything to go by, the band had already used up all its current ideas on these eight average and enjoyable tracks, which are by no means a waste of time, but would perhaps detract from time that could be better spent prowling the rest of the Swedish archive.
Advantages: A pleasant surplus of lead guitar melodies balanced out with some angry death metal.
Disadvantages: Overly repetitive, and too similar to Dark Tranquillity and others to truly stand out.
Abomination
Kill Your Father, Kill Your Friend, Kill Your Neighbour - When Will It End?
****
Written on 24.09.07
The fast and furious debut album from Chicago’s Abomination is an enjoyably frenetic piece of death metal history, bridging the gap seamlessly between the angry thrash of the late 80s, the even angrier grind of the turn of the 90s, and the brutal death metal that continued to be defined throughout the decade. While it opts to adopt traits from all three groups rather than bring anything particularly new to the table, Abomination’s self-titled release still sounds great today even if it is largely rooted in a specific 1990 sound, proving that metal still had a violent edge even before production values were kicked up a few notches and the crushing force of a live death metal performance could be transmitted to your own living room, cellar or car. But then, I am a bit of a sucker for primitive early 90s death.
‘Abomination’ was released on the burgeoning Nuclear Blast label, which would soon give rise to some of the most prominent extreme Scandinavian bands from the 90s up to the present day, though this is a full-blooded U.S.A. release with plenty of local references to the President and U.S. capitalist society (can you guess which side they’re on? This is nothing if not by-the-numbers aggro), and with enough obvious tips of the hat to genre forebears Slayer and Master as well as the numerous death and grind acts springing up all over the place. Based more in the sound of grind than death metal as it’s know today, the focus is less on achieving a deafening raucous through blasted drums, down-tuned guitars and roared vocals, and more a violent off-shoot of hardcore punk.
Paul Speckmann’s vocals are yelled with a genuine fury without becoming incomprehensible death grunts, while his bass can be heard distinctly and satisfyingly both over and between the speedy guitars, which are themselves primarily concerned with riffing along at a breakneck pace, often throwing up some interesting riff changes and squealed, brainless solos in the style of Slayer’s Kerry King. Aaron Nickeas’ drums are the most fore-grounded and impressive instrument, smothering the full extent of the kit in every song rather than restricting himself to maintaining a steady rhythm or relying solely on the double bass pedals that many lesser bands seem to think constitutes a heavy sound. The slightly lo-fi production quality means that the whole thing is still firmly rooted in the 80s, sounding more akin to thrash than the louder death metal being produced by Death and Morbid Angel, but really this only adds to its historical charm. Nuclear Blast’s more recent catalogue is full of death metal cacophonies, but this is a highly enjoyable album that will be enjoyed by Death and Anthrax fans alike.
1. The Choice
2. Murder, Rape, Pillage and Burn
3. Reformation
4. Redeem Deny
5. Possession
6. Suicidal Dreams
7. Life and Death
8. Victim of the Future
9. Tunnel of Damnation
10. Follower
11. Impending Doom
The first and longest song is an overview of pretty much everything that the band has to offer, from some of Speckmann’s less generic lyrics (in that they don’t just concern war, government and religion) to a succession of great guitar riffs and time in the spotlight for the drums and, to a lesser but still notable extent, Speckmann’s punky bass. From here on the album varies very little from the standard fast, angry style, but most of the songs manage some form of deviation, whether that simply means adding a slow section as in ‘Follower,’ or throwing out some great, unexpected lead guitars as is the case with the excellent ‘Life and Death.’ Nickeas’ drums are at their best when unleashed in ‘Murder, Rape, Pillage and Burn,’ a song that’s also notable for the unadulterated enjoyment of its chorus, where the bitter, anti-everything title is yelled in unison punk fashion, but the drums suffer considerably when attempts are made to explore a genuine ‘heavy’ sound, not really suited to the album’s production. ‘Reformation’ ends up sounding far less brutal than its exhaustive skin-hammering efforts clearly intended, while the unwise drum intro to ‘Tunnel of Damnation’ is bizarrely the worst percussion of the whole album, largely due to its reliance on a bass drum extravaganza in unsuitable circumstances.
There’s genuine rage throughout this album, particularly evident in the spiteful yells of the more hateful songs such as ‘Suicidal Dreams,’ but there are also unfortunately a number of times where the energy and ideas seem to run out by the half-way point of the song, leading to over-repetition that could easily have been avoided by trimming the track length to something more appropriate, which would still exceed the grindcore average length of around twenty seconds. The unfortunate distanced sound of the guitars caused by the production’s bass-heavy preference also means that many of their more interesting offerings can easily pass listeners by, often forming a mere wall of sound against which Nickeas is free to explore his drum kit, in an odd turnaround of the normal order.
Perhaps my favourite track is ‘Possession,’ if only for its unusual and entertaining deviation, as Speckmann slowly but surely recites the Lord’s Prayer in full around the half-way point, yelled in anger and accompanied by a tormented scream in the distance, before the guitars move into an uncharacteristically chirpy rendition of ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic,’ with ever-so-subtly changed vocals (‘Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the death’ – did you spot it?). ‘Follower’ is another fine song with some great Testament-style eerie lead guitars, and along with its successor ‘Impending Doom,’ was added to CD versions as a ‘bonus track’ present on all versions, but not on the equivalent LP. This final song is far less noteworthy, sounding like a carbon copy of much more famous earlier songs by Slayer, particularly in its replication of key aspects of ‘Angel of Death.’
Abomination’s name was never going to go down in history alongside their more creative and commercially successful contemporaries, but their albums are still great examples of early death metal in its genesis, before the sound became fairly standardised and repetitive. Paul Speckmann is a great frontman and impressive songwriter, his lyrics following the usual anarchistic agenda but managing to incorporate a large degree of irony and empathy, and it’s a shame he wasn’t a greater presence in the field alongside greats such as Chuck Schuldiner. ‘Abomination’ is relatively hard to come by, but some of their subsequent albums released prior to their mid-nineties break-up ought to be a little more in the limelight.
Advantages: Fine early death metal.
Disadvantages: Repetitive and derivative.
Slaughter and Apparatus
The Knee Bone's Connected to the... something
****
Written on 26.09.07
The newest album from Aborted continues in the same vein as its predecessor, moving towards a pleasing fusion of melodic death metal and the brutal goregrind of their earlier albums. The resulting concoction reaches its zenith here, heavy enough to satisfy long-time fans and without the frightening brain-hammering that would put off queasier newcomers. This Belgian band’s transition from gore-obsessed noise to something more musically accomplished and traditional follows directly in the bloodied footsteps of the disbanded Liverpool band Carcass over ten years earlier, and the inspiration is fully acknowledged through a guest performance by Carcass’ Jeff Walker on two songs, allowing Aborted complete freedom to rip his band’s sound off almost completely.
‘Slaughter and Apparatus: A Methodical Overture’ is more than a simple ‘Heartwork’ clone, though the sonic similarities (right down to some identical sounding riffs) make it a fitting modern-day tribute, depressingly showing just how little progress has been made since that definitive and massively influential 1994 opus. Aborted’s take is naturally heavier, as the band’s departure from a purer strain of brutal death metal hasn’t taken away the edge they possess over the hordes of poor imitators, complete with tediously shocking subject matter. Aborted’s own niche has always been its thematic focus on surgical abominations and malpractice, but this gimmick is noticeably less present here than it was a few years back when each song title competed with the last in the vomit-inducing stakes. There’s an obvious degree of maturity here that finally catches up to the band’s technical skill, and the fresh blood of relentless session drummer David Haley keeps the energy level consistently high throughout its exhausting forty-two minutes, the band’s longest album to date.
1. The Chondrin Enigma
2. A Methodical Overture
3. Avenious
4. The Spaying Séance
5. And Carnage Basked in its Ebullience
6. The Foul Nucleus of Resurrection
7. Archetype
8. Ingenuity in Genocide
9. Odious Emanation
10. Prolific Murder Contrivance
11. Underneath Rorulent Soil
As a sign of the greater focus on musicianship over cheap shocks and competitive heaviness for heaviness’ sake, gone are the overlong film snippets and voice samples that used to dominate the early parts of songs, restricted to a couple of brief introductory samples at key points. The album builds up anticipation with some nice distortion and American news broadcasts about something or other before the band lets rip. Haley’s drumming is extremely prominent, which can actually become a little irritating in its repetitiveness at times; although he makes excellent use of the bass pedals to provide a spine for the album’s rhythms, his frequent skin assaults (it’s hard to describe this band without slipping into medical terminology) conjure the image of a bloke beating the hell out of some metal bins, which isn’t really to my taste and is a little horrifyingly reminiscent of Metallica’s last album. Nevertheless, the production job is flawless, providing a great depth and volume that’s necessary to get across the full power of the band, and their roots in technical death keep the guitars of Matty Dupont and Seb Purulator (not his real name) a focal point that speeds through multiple interesting and organic changes each minute without spiralling into excessive fret masturbation. Most songs feature some impressive lead sections that bring the Carcass influence to the forefront, and a few feature some highly enjoyable solos in the classic style, as opposed to the squealing discordance practiced by most death metal outfits.
Vocalist Sven de Caluwe is one of the more impressive in his field, here alternating between a standard gurgling grunt and a more aggressive yell that comes across sounding a lot like In Flames’ Anders Fridén, especially when the silly electronic distortion is added in track eight. Sven fortunately avoids any kind of metalcore ‘clean’ vocals that would really rob the album of its ferocity and spoil even its less brutal moments, but even the move on from a permanent grunting style ought to annoy some purists. While some songs stick to the older wall-of-sound style fairly rigidly, such as the second track and some of the even stronger pieces towards the end, most are eager to try something new, even if Carcass and Arch Enemy had already been there long before. ‘Avenious’ is the first to venture into truly melodic territory, leaving much of the brutality behind in favour of blending aggression with pleasantly high guitars, and as usual I much prefer these slightly slower, more thought-out pieces to the often mindless brain-crushing riffs of the shorter songs. The album makes excessive and distinctly odd use of fade-outs for around half of the songs, some of which are improved by the drawn-out conclusion, and others of which could just as easily have ground to a halt before getting on with the next. The greater focus on crafting intricate songs also works to keep the album entertaining throughout, only really failing with the very last track which seems to drag on for the last couple of minutes and run out of steam, which makes for a bit of an anticlimax.
‘Slaughter and Apparatus’ sees Aborted continuing to claw their way out of the niche they very effectively formed with their cultish early albums, aiming for a wider audience that would greatly enjoy this continuing change of direction for the band. There are enough groove-driven riffs to make it appealing to even the most brain-dead Pantera fan, and it successfully flirts around the spiteful metalcore trend without selling its soul. Hopefully, angry kids will start listening to this sort of music instead, allowing those fallen melodic death bands to come back from the dark side, and making everyone a lot happier. As expected, it’s near impossible to discern what Sven is growling about in these eleven songs, only really becoming intelligible when he yells, but whatever the hell he’s angry about, it’s impossible not to concur with him wholeheartedly.
Advantages: Aborted continue to improve, refining and incorporating further melodic elements into their sound.
Disadvantages: Owes a significant debt to Carcass' 'Heartwork,' preventing it from being groundbreaking.
With No Human Intervention
Techno Tissue over a Metal Endoskeleton
***
Written on 28.09.07
Italy’s Aborym is an intriguingly forward-looking black metal band, forsaking the historical focus and influence typical of much of the genre and incorporating ever more electronic and dance elements to produce something that sounds notably futuristic, or at least highly contemporary. As of their third album, released in 2003, this skilful melding of two vastly different styles is still very much a work in progress.
Aborym is by no means an innovator when it comes to introducing electronic elements into metal, or even black metal specifically, with noted bands such as Anaal Nathrakh concentrating on a similar fusion of styles, a larger number of bands such as Zyklon striving for a more detached and mechanical sound with futuristic themes, and an even greater number experimenting with dance remixes of their own material on B-side releases, often to a less than stellar reception. To its credit, Aborym’s music doesn’t sound like Anaal Nathrakh, which is probably the closest comparison, but neither does this album fully deserve the plaudits granted to it as a perfect synthesis of styles, as the seams and rivets are very often gratuitously on display.
The band possesses a mechanical and inhuman feel from the start, having a drum machine in place of a flesh-and-blood drummer for most of this album, and as expected the industrial elements are chiefly expressed through the shift from black metal’s blast beats and double bass drums to a rave ‘beat’ (yeah alright, I’m not as wordy when it comes to the genres I know nothing about), as well as a greater presence of keyboards and samples. The majority of the album is performed in a surprisingly traditional black metal style that harks right back to the genre’s infernal conception in the mid-80s with bands such as Bathory and later the influential Mayhem, rather than the more modern sound being performed by many of their contemporaries today, but this more simplistic, rhythm-based and incessantly catchy approach aids in the fusion that the band is going for. The drum machine is the most prominent instrument in a rather distracting way, not fooling anyone for a second with its icy lack of energy, while the guitars are mostly restricted to heavily backgrounded riffs with a few acceptable moments in the spotlight, overpowered even by the keyboards that act primarily to maintain the atmosphere of apocalypse, robots or whatever.
By far the most impressive aspect of the album is the vocal performance from black metal icon Attila Csihar, whose range has improved greatly since his performance on Mayhem’s infamous ‘De Mysteriis dom Sathanas’ in 1993. Attila performs primarily in a deep growl, with frequent lapses into ferocious screams and some very effective chant and spoken word sections that suit the album’s less aggressive sections. Less aesthetically and technically impressive is the music’s descent into full rave on two tracks, which sounds equally as derivative and basic as the more dominant, pure black metal sections, and will only serve to annoy black metal fans, or mildly entertain those with a broader mind. The album is at its very best in the moments that harsh and relentless black metal is melded with the apocalyptic intensity of industrial, but sadly these are all too infrequent as the band continues to search for the golden ratio. At fourteen songs and over an hour in length this is a very generous and full release, but lacks any kind of real resonance, making the whole experience something of a drawn-out chore. And I can’t really forgive them for using the word ‘Rave’olution’ in a song title, that just stinks.
1. Antichristian Codec
2. With No Human Intervention
3. U.V. Impaler
4. Humechanics-Virus
5. Does Not Compute
6. Faustian Spirit of the Earth
7. Digital Goat Masque
8. The Triumph
9. Black Hole Spell
10. Me(n)tal Striken Terror Action II
11. Out of Shell
12. Chernobyl Generation
13. The Alienation of a Blackened Heart
14. Automatik Rave’olution Aborym
After a brief atmospheric introduction comes the first real song with the title track, which doesn’t disappoint in offering a full overview of the band’s potential, even if the industrial elements are significantly toned down to avoid alienating metal fans too early on. The techno influence is handled quite well in the first section of the album, creeping in gradually and culminating with ‘Humechanics-Virus’ which sees an effective melding of the percussion styles as well as an overbearing presence of electronic boops. The technological themes of the titles are a reliable indicator of the more dance-based songs on the whole, but very little could compare listeners for the all-out techno of ‘Does Not Compute,’ kept mercifully short at four minutes but abandoning the metal elements altogether. The atmosphere is consistent throughout both styles, conveying the album’s larger sense of depersonalised gloom, but the full-on techno can’t help but stick out far too dramatically, not weird enough, despite its efforts, to join the ranks of Aphex Twin, and far too fast even for the most speed-encrusted raver to get down and boogie to, or whatever these people do.
The advantage of such a deviation is that the next few songs sound practically human by comparison, even extending to the otherwise annoying drum machine. ‘Faustian Spirit of the Earth’ breaks the style with a disappointing dance interlude that seems more in line with pop music, but fortunately makes up for its with a great vocal performance and some fun guitar solos later on. Continuing to develop the style, the album reaches its peak in the middle section, with the experimental ‘Digital Goat Masque’ offering some excellent slower riffs, a harpsichord section and what sounds like a black metal sea shanty, but this is all topped with the best song ‘The Triumph,’ despite its excessive length that borders on ten minutes. The style changes completely from traditional black metal to a more modern meeting of melodic death metal with the grandeur of symphonic black metal, and with its tremolo-picking riffs, extended guitar solos and sweeping atmosphere this sounds like an entirely different band, which isn’t really a compliment to the rest of the recording. The industrial elements are mixed in perfectly as the song continues, losing the metal entirely as it draws to a close in a process of gradual reduction that works very impressively, and distracting even the most keen-eared critics with a very long vocal performance in the form of a female orgasm. It is a very enjoyable song, love, but that’s going a bit too far.
Unfortunately, the remainder of the album falls into a significant slump after this height, returning to the familiar style and churning out several more songs of unimpressive, fairly pointless Bathory-inspired metal that lacks anything in the way of experimentation before the album’s second fully electronic piece ‘Chernobyl Generation,’ an overlong companion to the fifth track that sounds even more derivative of generic techno (even down the bloke-trapped-in-car-boot pulse of the rhythm) but remains listenable for an enjoyable and unexpected vocal performance from Attila, who suits the less intense atmosphere as much as he does the more violent parts of the album. Weirdly, his vocals become completely audible on the brief penultimate track ‘The Alienation of a Blackened Heart’ which sounds entirely like a Bathory homage (or rip-off, depending on your point of view) and is enjoyable for it, even if it doesn’t really fit into the album. The inevitable grand anticlimax comes with the final track, which wastes several minutes of each listener’s life with some indistinct samples, noises and voices.
‘With No Human Intervention’ is a significantly flawed experiment, but I admire it for trying, and for coming so close with the fine songs in the middle. Targeted specifically at fans of both extreme metal and the darker side of dance music, these Italians don’t hold anything back in combining their love of both styles, but lack the inspiration and song-writing ability to produce something that could truly be considered innovative or a masterpiece. ‘The Triumph’ is quite appropriately the closest this comes to meeting the band’s vision, but there’s plenty for black metal fans to enjoy in the form of Attila’s fantastic performance, as well as plenty for them to loathe in the form of the more deviant tracks. Replete with filler, this will provide appropriate background music after the machines take over and decimate our planet, forcing us to work pointlessly in mines to gather the fossil fuels they eat, but until that day this is simply a well-intended oddity gathering dust in strange European music shops.
Advantages: An interesting project combining extreme metal and dance/industrial.
Disadvantages: True fusion is rare, most songs falling into one category or the other with disappointing simplicity
Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectére Me
The Audial Presence of Pure Black Tedium
*
Written on 30.09.07
Disbanded Stockholm band Abruptum played a style of free-form black metal that predated later post-metal trends, and as such clearly has no idea how to go about it. One of the smellier releases to come from the respected Deathlike Silence Productions, owned by murdered Mayhem guitarist Euronymous and responsible for launching such notable black metal acts as Enslaved in the early nineties, Abruptum’s first album caters more towards avant-garde noise enthusiasts than black metal fans, entirely lacking the ambience or artistry that would have taken it to a much higher level, or made it anything other than an insult to the eardrum and cochlea.
Contrary to popular opinion, this fifty minute mess-around, split into two tracks for no reason other than to cater for the vinyl market (because, like, this would sound so much better if you bought the authentic 12”), is actually music, performed by the usual black metal instruments of guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and snarling voice, and grounded in regular rhythms and repeated riffs. It takes several minutes of listening to raise suspicion that something is awry, as the instruments slowly form themselves into something resembling the usual introductory song of an album evoking a dark atmosphere, but it’s more a realisation that the song is simply going nowhere than a reaction against an alienating avant-garde sonic extravaganza in the style of John Zorn. ‘Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectére Me’ is a seemingly improvised lengthy recording that goes absolutely nowhere and, despite its obvious intentions, fails to evoke any kind of atmosphere other than disappointed boredom and restlessness.
There are many bands, inside and outside black metal, that concern themselves with creating dark, mournful or hateful atmospheres at the expense of technical accomplishment, and many albums that succeed tremendously. Abruptum have the excuse of forming a relatively new (though inevitable) niche in the burgeoning black metal market, but I find it hard to imagine anyone being truly engrossed in this pointless, amateurish music, or finding it truly evocative of hell, hate and despair, which was clearly the band’s intention. Burzum’s compositions from the same era were long-winded and repetitive, but truly distressing and terrifying, as well as being damn catchy. Later bands such as Black Funeral released albums entirely composed of evil incantations and endlessly cyclical inhuman noises which I find similarly unpalatable, but at least provide something to go to sleep to (especially keeping fingers crossed for a nightmare). Even the most comparably boring and tedious album-length compositions of bands such as Monolithe succeed in dragging the listener into their depressing world for at least twenty minutes or so before ears start to itch, but I got bored of this far sooner, and loaded up a game of ‘Columns’ while the remaining forty minutes or so plodded on to an unsatisfying conclusion. The only real change is that IT’s vocals become more vomit-sounding towards the end, which is just unpleasant. The moans and yells allegedly record the band members cutting and injuring each other, the f****ing idiots.
IT and Evil (real names Tony Särkkä and Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson, not that they’d want you to know that) mess around on their instruments with no sense of direction whatsoever, resulting in something weakly experimental when compared to things like Naked City, and too distracting to create or maintain any atmosphere or mental image other than two blokes in face-paint wasting time in a studio. Assuming that over-dubbing was necessary to layer all the instruments, it means they actually listened back to this and played along, at no point thinking, “hang on, this is just complete rubbish isn’t it? What the hell are we doing?” The sound quality is very impressive for such an underground release, making this seem like even more of a waste. Nothing is drowned out in the noise, and it accurately captures the changes of intensity as the drums and guitars speed into a brief fast section before getting bored and slowing down again, knowing they’ve got thirty or so minutes more of this crap before they can get back to playing ‘Super Mario World.’ There is one single piece of studio trickery employed in the form of arbitrary fade-out and fade-in sections that serve no purpose whatsoever, other than perhaps to give the musicians an undeserved break, and although this music is particularly suited to loud volume, the risk of anyone catching you listening to it will probably act as a deterrent. Unless of course, you’re seeking to cultivate a false sense of intrigue from your flatmates, hoping that listening to tedious noise makes you seem interesting.
‘Obscuritatem Advoco Amplectére Me’ was obviously intended as a revolutionary and rebellious album from stupid young Satanists that ends up sounding more like the contractually obligated filler churned out by more famous artists, Vangelis’ worthless ‘Beaubourg’ being foremost on my mind. Evil released a remastered version on his own BloodDawn label in 1999, but you shouldn’t by that either. It is rubbish.
Advantages: You may get an unreasonable sense of the connoisseur from owning something so obscure.
Disadvantages: The album.
Horrorhammer
Time to Cut Your Effing Throat
***
Written on 01.10.07
I expected some pretty good things from Abscess’ latest release, despite being unfamiliar with long-running death metal outfit. I was easily won over by its Beksinski-style cover of rotting buildings, rising dead and monstrous eyeballs walking around on spider legs, and intrigued over vocalist/drummer Chris Reifer’s long-standing presence in the Californian death metal scene right from its infernal spawning in the mid-eighties, providing the drums for Death’s classic debut ‘Scream Bloody Gore’ (the only instrument not handled by Chuck Schuldiner) and immediately forming his own band Autopsy, which eventually morphed into Abscess. Thirdly, I thought the album title was really ace.
Abscess’ more recent trend (so I gather) has been a continuing progression towards a more punk- and grind-tinged form of death metal, resulting in brief albums full of short, sharp, repulsive shocks rather than striving for brutality. ‘Horrorhammer’ continues to mix harsh death metal vocals over relatively simplistic supporting guitars and drums, but the overall experience sounds somewhat mismatched and ineffective, lacking a fair amount of the energy and aggression to live up to the sickening demands of the lyrics. There isn’t much emphasis on crafting memorable compositions as much as a thirty-five minute hardcore-punk-death-metal buzz that weirdly seems to drag on even as it approaches its insubstantial finale.
‘Insubstantial’ is the main word on my mind, particularly in the shorter songs, some of which last less than two minutes with the majority coming in under three, as they speed by without making much of an impact and are instantly forgotten. Maybe I’m just more used to overlong, overcomplicated metal performances and I failed to grasp the punk mindset, but the majority of this album comes across as samey and repetitive mediocrity. Reifer’s vocals are the main focus but even these aren’t as powerful or gut-wrenching as those of other bands, too raspy to convey real aggression and too unintelligible to be catchy. His drums are similarly average, never overpowering the music with oppressive blast beats or double bass hammering, but opting instead to keep a fairly steady rhythm in the faster and slower sections alternating over the course of the album. Clint Bower and Danny Coralles provide the guitars which also suffer for being largely kept in the background, but occasionally throw out some enjoyable riffs that successfully balance between death metal and punk, and churning out some basic but irresistible squealy guitar solos at fairly random intervals in the true pink spirit. Joe Allen plays the bass. I think I noticed him about twice.
1. Drink the Filth
2. New Diseases
3. Poison Messiah
4. Another Private Hell
5. Exterminate
6. When Witches Burn
7. Four Grey Walls
8. Beneath a Blood Red Sun
9. Horrorhammer
10. Hellhole
11. March of the Plague
12. The Eternal Pyre
There’s no real pattern to the best songs on here, as one or two notable examples will usually be found floating on top of the mediocrity and may be of varied length. Initially, it tends to be the longer songs that have more going for them, the four-minute ‘Poison Messiah’ impressing with its unexpected and competent slower pace and occasional guitar flair, but mainly enjoyable for providing a break from the fast and furious pace of its predecessors. As the album drags on, the longer songs become increasingly tiresome, drawn-out and dull, to the point that the penultimate ‘March of the Plague’ runs out of steam before the half-way point. ‘When Witches Burn’ relies on some similarly unexpected but highly derivative Black Sabbath-style guitars and adds some truly evil vocals to make for one of the better offerings, but this too is undermined by ‘Beneath a Blood Red Sun’ which essentially does exactly the same thing, only dull and lacking completely in energy.
The majority of the album follows a similar course of fast, competent but uninspired guitars and drums providing a backing for Chris Reifer’s half-hearted yells, and due to the repetitive style between each song, these do work best when squashed between some of the slower or lengthier pieces. ‘Four Grey Walls’ stands out particularly well as a nice speedy song between the Sabbathesque tracks, and is perhaps the only instance where the death metal and punk influences truly meet each other in some kind of synthesis, extending to Reifer’s yells becoming less guttural and more audible for a change. The opening track ‘Drink the Filth’ performs its task adequately of introducing this style and spewing its pointlessly violent lyrics at the listener in a manner that it’s hard to resist shouting along with, whether you agree with the band’s rather unpopular stance or not, but the rest fail to stand out in the same way. ‘Horrorhammer’ itself is an enjoyable instrumental song that doesn’t descend into all-out masturbatory gratuity but restrains itself to replacing the vocals with more prominent guitars, featuring a nice subdued lead in the first half and a parade of fine riffs in the second. Despite having the opportunity to concentrate more fully on the percussion, Reifer sticks to a steady backing drum beat that’s a little disappointing.
Death metal is an excitingly wide-reaching genre, and there are plenty of other, better, more compelling ways to enjoy half an hour of aggression than this rather feeble performance, watered down by a sleek production job. Abscess’ back catalogue almost certainly holds far greater albums of note, especially if reaching back through Autopsy and right back to ‘Scream Bloody Gore,’ and despite being sweary, having a cool cover and a funny title, this album doesn’t slice it.
Advantages: Fairly enjoyable mix of death metal and hardcore punk.
Disadvantages: Hugely inconsistent and lacking in substance.
The Decomposition Process
Masterclass in Festering
**
Written on 07.10.07
The first and so far only release from Dortmund’s Absence is just about the most pointless melodic death metal album I’ve ever heard, in a genre that’s been spiralling increasingly downhill since its conception in the early nineties. Taking all of its cues from the rotting corpse of Gothenburg metal (perhaps explaining the album’s title), every repetitive nuance of every song seems lifted from In Flames’ ‘Whoracle’ released ten years earlier, which to many represented the start of Gothenburg’s decline. In a genre infested with soundalike In Flames clones on the one hand and metalcore on the other (with only rare, occasional bands producing something truly powerful and forward-looking), for a 2006 newcomer to impress would take something bloody spectacular. The most positive thought I managed to have while listening to this album was, “ah well... at least it’s not metalcore.”
Nothing about this album stands out whatsoever, apart from hazy memories of repetitive, unconvincing riffs and occasional pleasant guitar solos. The songs are all pretty much the same and it’s impossible to distinguish between them; that’s not to say that the band needed to employ a drastic change of style, such as was found throughout ‘Whoracle’ (a significantly flawed album that I now enjoy far, far less than when first exposed to it many years ago), but there’s no deviation from the standard formula and style of guitar playing, other than some songs featuring a greater focus on lead melodies.
Marcus Gasper yells the whole thing in a standard death metal growl that could really be anybody, lapsing very briefly into some clean singing on ‘Dead Reckoning,’ one of the slightly better songs, but still taking all of his influence directly from the forerunners of the Gothenburg scene. Guitarists Jens Scheiwe and Lars Dietrich are the most competent musicians, and come up with some enjoyable main riffs, nice leads and some even nicer solos, but it’s still not enough to properly distinguish these songs from the rest of the overpopulated scene. Hartmut Stoof’s drums have a processed, clinical sound that robs them of their energy, and try as he might in some songs more than others (especially ‘Torrent of Hatred’), this never reaches a level of heaviness beyond the old stereotype of melodic death sounding like Iron Maiden with laryngitis. Though nowhere near as great or amusing as that would be.
1. The Better Truth
2. For the End is Yet to Come
3. Godmode On
4. Symbols of Decay
5. The Outcome
6. Dead Reckoning
7. Soul Reactor
8. Mindbreaker
9. Torrent of Hatred Pt. I
10. Open Wound
11. The Media
While repeated listens would undoubtedly breed familiarity and a preference of some songs over others, it was difficult to find much to enjoy on my sole listen, largely due to the extreme sense of disappointment I felt. If this album was approached by a newcomer to the genre who hadn’t been exposed to In Flames or some of the superior bands such as Dark Tranquillity and Amon Amarth, they would probably find a whole lot more to enjoy in it, before later discovering where it was all stolen from and turning against the band in disgust. There are a few songs such as ‘Godmode On’ and ‘Mindbreaker’ in which the guitarists come up with a pretty fair forgery of the In Flames sound in their apparent quest for “the lost In Flames dual lead harmony melody,” but for each point of interest there are at least three songs to sap the soul. The attempt at Amon Amarth style slow heaviness in ‘Symbols of Decay’ is a real failure, and on occasions where the generically hostile lyrics are more audible such as near the beginning of ‘The Outcome,’ where Gasper tells me that he hates my soul, elicit a reflexive, out-of-character “f*** off” towards the stereo, which surprised me more than anybody.
There could not be a more generic and repetitive clone of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal than Absence’s debut, offering nothing whatsoever to fans who have moved on from those 90s bands and are searching for something new. The musicians have obvious talent that could be combined with a more powerful production and some genuinely original ideas to come up with something much better as a second release, and I’ll certainly make sure to check it out if that’s ever in the pipeline. Thousands of bands are playing this very same style, and it’s probable that Absence aren’t even in the top half.
Still, at least it’s not metalcore.
Advantages: Some twiddly solos and harmonies for guitar junkies.
Disadvantages: Completely pointless and unoriginal.
Riders of the Plague
Wounds a Mile Deep, Spraying Profusely
****
Written on 08.10.07
Florida’s The Absence are one of the more interesting modern bands playing melodic death metal, in that their material doesn’t just sound like a cheap imitation of In Flames during their less creative eras, and manages to exude aggression without descending into Soilwork-style metalcore. The sound is still rooted firmly in the oversaturated Gothenburg style, which keeps the band from producing anything truly original or inspired, and much of their latest album ‘Riders of the Plague’ reminds distinctly of At the Gates, one of the other Gothenburg originators, and the various projects its members have been involved with in more recent years such as The Crown.
There really is nothing in this distinctly Swedish sound that suggests this band hails from the region that brought us the early death metal from the likes of Death and Obituary, and only a competent cover of Testament’s ‘Into the Pit’ breaks the style slightly from a seriously heavy and melodic outburst interspersed with a few short-lived moments of calm. Unlike many melodic death bands that cruise along through a combination of derivative 80s heavy metal leads and relentless double bass drumming in a weak attempt to justify their mixed genre, The Absence are one of the more impressive bands that really strive to achieve aggression and harmony in equal measure, predominantly through the excellent range of the guitars (though there’s still the typical, mindless double bass assault that rarely lets up). Guitarists Peter Joseph and Patrick Pintaville, who also handled split bass duties on the recording, excel at unleashing powerful riffs reminiscent of The Crown, only more creative, and each song is loosely structured enough to allow for extended solos and lead sections that never sound showy or frivolous. Jeramie Kling’s drums are a fairly standard affair, but treated well by the clear and booming production, while Jamie Steward’s roaring vocals provide the foundation for the At the Gates comparison, sounding like a dead ringer for Tomas Lindberg.
1. Riders of the Plague
2. Dead and Gone
3. The Murder
4. Echoes
5. World Divides
6. Prosperity
7. Untitled
8. Awakening
9. Merciless
10. Into the Pit (Testament cover)
11. The Victorious Dead
12. Outro
Composed of medium length songs averaging just over five minutes, this album provides plenty of opportunities for its musicians to demonstrate their talents without dragging the proceedings on to an unreasonable length. There are no real weak tracks, but several that fail to stand out simply for sounding much like their companions, or for being too derivative of the overplayed Gothenburg sound, namely ‘World Divides’ and ‘The Awakening.’ The general trends remain much the same throughout the songs with occasional lapses and minor deviation, defining the band’s sound in the furious title track, lightening up with some In Flames style high guitars in ‘Dead and Gone’ (even featuring some of those silly but enjoyable Christmas riffs that band churned out during the mid-nineties), before taking a turn for the apocalyptic in ‘The Murder.’ This violent and angry song compliments the more melodic style of its neighbours, particularly the excellent ‘Echoes,’ in injecting life back into melodic death metal, making it catchy, violent and fun again, and reminding me of how exciting it all sounded years ago with the likes of Dark Tranquillity and Dismember, before endless copy-cat and metalcore bands made me jaded.
The second half of the album begins with an instrumental, providing an opportunity for the musicians to really show off their talents, but one that they don’t really take up. It’s a fine song, and the lead guitars that last almost throughout are great, but there were many points that it seemed more like a standard song lacking lyrics, which could easily have been inserted in the ‘verse’ riff sections. The oddest thing is the four second long, untitled seventh track, which seems only to have been included because the band didn’t like the idea of an odd-numbered track-list or something, I don’t know. The final section of the album is the most consistent and impressive, ‘Merciless’ being the most varied in speed and style, and ‘The Victorious Dead’ making a final, successful stab at the aggression that characterises much of this release. The Testament cover is much the same as the original, but with the vocals roared, the guitars given the melodeath treatment and the production notched up from 1988, and the final song is a pleasant and relaxing ‘Outro’ led by a squealing and victorious lead guitar that it’s quite sad to hear fading away as the album reaches the end.
In a genre increasingly overpopulated with similar-sounding bands, it’s always great to hear something that tries to improve on the work of its predecessors, even if The Absence and their contemporaries will never truly escape the Gothenburg sound they’re so rooted in. ‘Riders of the Plague’ is hard enough to please death metal fans who don’t mind excessive guitar solos, and The Absence and their ilk should be made compulsory listening to anyone who thought The Haunted were as brutal as it gets.
Advantages: Making melodic death metal interesting again.
Disadvantages: Still owes its sound entirely to earlier Swedish bands.
The Little Boy's Heavy Mental Shadow Opera About the Inhabitants of His Diary
*****
Written on 12.10.07
I was a little wary in approaching Andy Kuntz’s rock opera solo project, as the rather naffly poetic lyrics and daydream subject matter (not to mention the silly long title) smelled malodorously like a cheap Ayreon knock-off gone even more pansy. Thus, I was very pleasantly surprised indeed to discover a pleasant and highly enjoyable fusion of prog rock and metal, no doubt inspired by Arjen Lucassen and many others, instead of a large slab of festering cheese about a magical toyland and things. Though admittedly, that does come into it a bit.
Kuntz’s voice (yes his name sounds a bit like a rude word, let’s all grow up can we?) excels here even more than in his more well-known prog metal band Vanden Plas, his expressive and exciting wail perfectly capturing the rock opera feel, without rising too high to put off those unaccustomed to the more fantastical side of metal. His voice reminds me most of Khan from American regal metal band Kamelot, though restricted to the middle range, and on the whole the album tends to vary between Ayreon’s self-style space metal (particularly the brilliant ‘Into the Electric Castle’ and ‘The Human Equation’ albums, though without the ensemble chorus) and the freeform instrumental side of Dream Theater around the ‘Metropolis’ era, though Kuntz’s voice is far superior to the often piercing James LaBrie. The sound varies between softer rock and harder metal, the latter mainly expressed through simplistic down-tuned riffs, and made for one of the most enjoyable listening experiences I’ve had in a while, even if the vomit-inducing lyrics prevented me from ever being fully absorbed into Kuntz’s neverworld.
1. The Inhabitants of His Diary
2. You Broke the Sun
3. Silence
4. Far Away from Heaven
5. Coppermoon (The Other Side)
6. Hyperion Sunset
7. God’s Driftwood
8. Radio Earth
9. Abydos
10. Green’s Guidance for a Strategy Adventure Game
11. Wild Flower Sky
12. A Boy Named Fly
The style shifts from soft to loud fairly often throughout this album, with a couple of songs standing out for being entirely one or the other, but there is a common sound running through them all to reinforce the idea of a concept album, and even better, all of the songs are very memorable; there isn’t a single song that I would rate as less than ‘very great’ apart from the quite stupid robot/alien narrative of track ten, though that’s forgivable as essentially a brief introduction to the next song. The introduction is a little surprising in that it starts in full swing without a fade-in or some kind of clichéd birdsong or baby wail that can usually be counted on showing up in a narrative album (in fact, there are no sound effects or distracting spoken word sections at any point in this album, relying entirely on the instruments and vocals), and after its brief spell comes the first great song, the album-defining ‘You Broke the Sun.’ Moving from an initially worrying Savatage-style piano ballad to a great mid-speed grooving song with nicely contrasting busy/loud and sparse/quiet sections, this could easily stand alone as a single and really sets up all the styles that will come into play later, including some pleasant acoustic guitar and limited synthesisers, though these will go seriously overboard in a great seventies way later on.
‘Silence’ begins one of the album’s trends of heavier, metal-based songs with wild instrumental breaks and fantastic loud guitar solos, which also forms the basis of the storyline’s other energetic moments in ‘Hyperion Sunset,’ ‘God’s Driftwood’ and the penultimate ‘Wild Flower Sky.’ This is where the Dream Theater sound is most prominent, though it could more accurately be defined as a Vanden Plas sound, while also reminding me of Threshold. ‘Far Away from Heaven’ takes the bold step of basing itself almost entirely on an acoustic and piano ballad, but it is performed with such passion and a lack of the unconvincing, chart-seeking cheese that made the descent of bands like Savatage into rock opera outfits so embarrassing. It’s actually really good, and I’d enjoy it even if it didn’t feature the even better second half of dark sounding guitars and orchestration.
This eerie orchestral sound is picked up by the later ‘Abydos,’ which confines the rock instruments to the background in favour of showcasing the symphonic elements and making me wish they were a little more prevalent in the other songs, rather than simply providing subtle mood and depth. This latter song is also quite reminiscent of Ayreon’s ‘Evil Devolution’ from ‘Into the Electric Castle,’ an album that may or may not have been in Kuntz’s mind and CD player when he composed these songs, but certainly shares similarity with many of the songs, most prominently the unapologetically synthesiser-based ‘Radio Earth’ which smacks distinctly of one particular song off that Ayreon release that I can’t quite put my finger on (one of the jolly, jangly acoustic ones). The dominant use of acoustic guitar also makes this song stand out as one of the most memorable on the album, as well as one of the most catchy, and may even provide some small consolation for Pink Floyd fans who wished that the jangly outro to their song ‘Sheep’ had been extended into a full song: this isn’t exactly the answer, but comes close to realising it.
The only real problem with this album is that it experiences something of a minor downfall at the end, with the penultimate ‘Wild Flower Sky’ being a little too inconsistent and all over the place in uncomfortable contrast to the strong and simple earlier pieces, displaying all the signs of an over-ambitious, cocky concept album reaching its conclusion and allowing the storyline to take over (which is at its weakest here, with a truly sub-Ayreon computer scenario that beats Lucassen tenfold in terms of geekiness). The final song, the climactic ‘A Boy Named Fly,’ is a good piece but far too long at twelve minutes to be fully absorbed, though it doesn’t demand the same attention of its listener as its predecessor. It’s a fairly satisfying conclusion that deals with the singer’s sincere thoughts and feelings rather than the escapism of the rest of the album, mainly the death of his father that apparently spurred the whole project on, and it only really suffers for coming so late in a reasonably lengthy album.
‘The Little Boy’s Heavy Mental Shadow Opera about the Inhabitants of His Diary,’ to give it its full title, is another impressive work of ambitious metal meeting progressive rock, and should be greeted warmly by fans of Ayreon in particular, as well as liberal-minded fans of prog metal acts such as Dream Theater and Shadow Gallery. Its strength lies in the general sound, energy and emotion of the piece rather than the technicalities, as much of the instrumentation is fairly simplistic when thinned out and examined individually, being driven by a virtuoso vocal performance by Andy Kuntz – though there are some very nice and varied guitar solos. A few songs are a little overlong, particularly towards the end of the album, but not to the extent that they count against the work, and even the zaniest mad-cap instrumental breaks all seem to make some kind of sense. Maybe I was just really in the mood for this type of music today, but something about this album made me enjoy every second and hope that the singer releases something else of a similar style in the future, though it would be unfortunate if it took a family tragedy each time.
Advantages: A great modern metal opera combining the best elements of the style and few of the weaknesses.
Disadvantages: The concept and lyrics themselves are far from riveting.
Metal Heart
Keep Your 'Lectric Aorta On Me, Babe
****
Written on 14.10.07
I love 80s metal. No matter how deeply some of the more avant-garde recesses of my music collection try to impress me and tempt me over to a realm of depth and full sensual experience, it’s the simple, stupid enjoyment of 80s bands keeps me coming back for more, and Accept’s 1985 album is a perfect example. It’s called ‘Metal Heart,’ but this isn’t some kind of metaphor for a die-hard heavy metal fan, or elegy for a relationship gone bad, no. It’s a real metal heart. Full of wires and stuff, you can see it on the cover. I love heavy metal!
Unfortunately, the 80s were cursed with another, entirely different strand of stupid music in the form of disco, and Accept were one of several notable metal bands to head in that direction in pursuit of greater commercial success that never really arrived. Fortunately, with its loud and clear production and well adapted riffs, ‘Metal Heart’ is far less offensive to metal fans than Judas Priest’s ultimate dance floor blasphemy ‘Turbo’ released two years later, and should have been forced down those deluded Brummies’ earholes to instruct them how it should have been done. This album is a significant step down from Accept’s previous two releases in terms of speed and aggression, but the talents of lead guitarist Wolf Hoffman and the distinctive, oft-imitated vocal screech of Udo Dirkschneider are fleshed out fully by the impressive production job, making this satisfyingly powerful as well as damn catchy, a fine meeting of traditional metal with commercial rock that only makes a few major slip-ups.
1. Metal Heart
2. Midnight Mover
3. Up to the Limit
4. Wrong is Right
5. Screaming for a Love-Bite
6. Too High to Get it Right
7. Dogs on Leads
8. Teach Us to Survive
9. Living for Tonite
10. Bound to Fail
The whole album is based on simple and steady rhythms similar to dance beats without committing themselves, and Peter Baltes’ bass fills in for rhythm guitar very competently when the lead instruments go off on one, as they frequently do. Select songs are drenched in a soaking of keyboards, but these are restricted to atmospheric background duties and fortunately don’t interfere too greatly with the main melodies, as the result would almost certainly be embarrassing. As it stands, there’s only one song that’s truly quite awful and insulting to metal in the form of the (perhaps inevitable) love song ‘Screaming for a Love-Bite,’ ironically the track on which Udo’s voice is uncharacteristically restrained. The obvious song designed around the notion of being released a hit single, everything from the TV-game-show guitar riffs to the mellow singing in the chorus and the boring, monotonous drum plod place this firmly in rock ballad territory, but experienced listeners can easily skip around it on replays.
There are actually several different playing styles evident on this album, which makes the approach of each new track an exciting experience to look forward to, even if it sometimes leads to regret. The opening title track is a slice of pure 80s heavy metal with a long guitar build-up aided by some choral vocals seeming like a mix of Judas Priest’s classic opener ‘The Hellion’ and Manowar’s more bombastic moments, before the whole thing settles into a great riff and a provides a chance for Udo to strut his stuff with the lyrics that are sort of like a more confusing and more silly version of David Bowie’s apocalyptic ‘Five Years,’ though clearly not intentionally. Judas Priest seems to be the main influence, particularly as the playing has generally slowed down from the more distinctive niche Accept had defined for itself with the earlier albums that would eventually be followed almost identically by fellow German bands Running Wild and later Grave Digger. The most impressive moment of this song sees a complete break-off for Hoffman’s guitar, which noodles around with a Beethoven melody before the other instruments get what he’s doing and enthusiastically join in. It’s sad that this is probably the highlight of the album at such an early point, at least from a metal fan’s perspective, but there are plenty more unexpected gems to unearth as the parade continues.
‘Midnight Mover’ is an extremely pop-oriented and frustratingly catchy track that I enjoy and despise in equal measure, taking the album back to the 70s with some early Judas Priest/Deep Purple style hard rock riffs and AC/DC vocals in the verses making Udo even more unbearable, and to top it all off, an overwhelmingly cheesy chorus that for me, instantly conjures the image of a fictional music video of the band performing in make-up and sparkly glitter under flashing pink lights, smooching at the camera. It’s not pleasant, and it’s a fairly embarrassing thing to admit I actually enjoy a little bit, but it at least makes me smile and that’s what’s important. ‘Up to the Limit’ continues the hard rock vein without the terrible pop chorus this time, and as such has no real distinguishing features either good or bad, and ‘Wrong is Right’ rejuvenates the metal influence with an injection of some distinctly Helloween-sounding guitars, particularly interesting as that band hadn’t even started making albums quite yet. The embarrassment of the aforementioned fifth track leads to the album’s dullest section that plays around with ‘Turbo’ style metal but throws up nothing of much interest apart from a nice solo or two, and things improve for the final few offerings.
‘Teach Us to Survive’ is the first song for some time that ends at just the right time, without becoming over-repetitive to bulk out the forty minutes, and features some interesting Spanish-tinged guitar as well as prominent and speedy bass playing and some questionable finger clicking accompaniment towards the end. ‘Living for Tonite’ lives up to its waste-not attitude by launching into full-scale solos right from the onset, though the tediously plodding drums have become pretty dull by this late point in the album, and the whole thing is concluded on a grand scale with ‘Bound to Fail,’ probably the best song aside from the title track. Everything about this final song seeks attention, and it’s clear from the opening lead guitar that we’re either listening to a Christmas song or a grand finale by a band that imagines itself to be ever-so-slightly better than it actually is. Air guitar fans will be in heaven once the song launches into a series of riffs and solos, while the choral vocals come back in full force in an attempt to out-do Manowar, probably succeeding at the point of recording but sadly failing in the ludicrous stakes compared to that band’s later extravagance.
‘Metal Heart’ isn’t the album I’d recommend for fans of heavy metal, or even more specifically the 80s German scene that spawned a number of successful bands still going strong today, but it’s easily the most accessible for a wider audience and doesn’t compromise too much to get there. Anyone who enjoyed ‘Turbo Lover’ should make it a top priority, after which you can smash that sell-out LP and join us over on the dark side.
Advantages: Accessible pop-tinged metal that still sounds great, with a wide diversity of styles.
Disadvantages: Some inevitably terrible, awful songs.
Powerage
Tied My Baby to the Railroad Track
****
Written on 15.10.07
By the release of their fifth album ‘Powerage,’ Australia-based, mostly-Scottish hard rock band AC/DC truly defined their famous sound for the first time, and produced the first of their classic albums that’s also perhaps the least well-known. The same old issues remain of the international versions being re-mixed and re-ordered, but for the first time both versions feature the same cover art: lead guitarist Angus Young being electrocuted (by alternating or direct current?) and fixing the buyer with a steely glare as if daring them to play this lethal record. Despite my better judgement, this band comes next on my A-Z of album reviews and I am forced to enter.
In truth, it’s not that devastating, but once the album gets going there’s a great energy that drives the whole thing along to its conclusion at forty minutes. The band is no longer simply playing sped-up rock ’n’ roll, but continuing to define its own sound based on the other 70s hard rock acts, and the Young brothers’ signature guitars really come into play as the simplistic backbone of all the songs, meaning that each riff has to be worth listening to on a repeated loop for four or so minutes. Drummer Phil Rudd (the band’s only true Aussie at this point) keeps up with catchy and reliable backing beats without demonstrating too much flair, and apart from a brief solo spot on ‘Sin City,’ new bassist Cliff Williams (from Romford) is easy to overlook.
Of course, equally important to the guitars is the vocal performance of the late Bon Scott who would record one more album with the band before dying after a bout of heavy drinking in Camden. This is a real shame, as I have infinitely more tolerance for his traditional and highly energised rock singing than the irritating gargly warbling of his more famous successor, who my friend Dan ingeniously and accurately described as sounding like he’s gargling with a throatful of those hard chip-ends you get at the bottom of the bag. Thankfully, there’s none of that here, and Scott is free to dance around the repeating instruments to convey tales of broken relationships, drug overdoses, life on the road and escapism through alcohol. Rock ’n’ roll.
1. Rock ’n’ Roll Damnation
2. Down Payment Blues
3. Gimme a Bullet
4. Riff Raff
5. Sin City
6. What’s Next to the Moon
7. Gone Shootin’
8. Up to My Neck in You
9. Kicked in the Teeth
Despite the repetitive sound, which took some getting used to now I’ve grown accustomed to more experimental works, this album boasts a reasonable variety of songs, from short and simple angry hard rock to lengthier and more laid-back blues-based compositions, and admirably seems to improve with each track before peaking at ‘What’s Next to the Moon,’ an amusing tale of a man’s desire to top his lover in all manner of exciting ways before being apprehended by a police officer and revealing/pretending that she died disappointingly of a heart attack. Featuring a brief harmonica, great guitar solo and the album’s most energetic riffs, particularly in the chorus, this is probably the album’s defining moment, but that doesn’t mean the rest pales in comparison. ‘Gimme a Bullet,’ despite its depressing subject matter, rocks along at an enjoyable pace and shares a distinct vocal melody with Judas Priest’s later, lesser song ‘Troubleshooter,’ while the album’s concluding songs up the ante to deliver Scott and the Youngs’ most energetic performances of the lot, yelling and pounding their way through ‘Up to My Neck in You’ and the suitably aggressive ‘Kicked in the Teeth’ to ensure the album ends on a high and leaves a lasting impression.
That’s not to say the rest of the album isn’t up to scratch, featuring some of the band’s most proclaimed works (from this early period at least). ‘Riff Raff’ takes a looser approach allowing time out for brief experimentation, mostly expressed through a really long guitar solo and one of several minute-long intro riffs of the album, while Scott’s vocals take on an angrier sound for the first time. The famous ‘Sin City’ is a little slower but no less impressive, beginning with a generic riff that could come from any other song here before unveiling the memorable vocal melody that makes this song so popular and the most distinctively AC/DC here, if that makes any sense. ‘Down Payment Blues’ and ‘Gone Shootin’’ are the two songs still lagging behind in blues-rock territory, but permissibly and enjoyably so at such different points in the album, and the slower riffs, more thoughtfully delivered lyrics and chilled guitar solos work great against the more upbeat companion pieces, though they’re perhaps less entertaining when listened to in isolation. First and unfortunately least is the opener ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Damnation’ which was the only song I didn’t really enjoy, and seems a little too self-consciously rooted in tradition, something that can’t have been helped by its title.
As someone who’s been put off by Brian Johnson’s rubbish chip-end-throated voice in the past, it was great to discover an earlier period of AC/DC where this wouldn’t prove a drawback, and Bon Scott is excellent here, even if he ultimately sounds a little bit like every other rock singer of the time. I’ve never understood the need to sound American when playing this type of music; would people really be put off by full-blooded Scottish hard rock? And what type of Scot calls it a ‘railroad track’ anyway? Just one of many problems I have with the music business and the stupid general consumers. ‘Powerage’ is a great album of easily approachable rock songs towards the grittier end of the spectrum, but remaining catchy and melodic enough to keep it from deterring people who might be a little wary of the subject matter. ‘Highway to Hell’ is more famous, but this is where it all really started. And just try listening to the whole thing in the morning without the riffs playing through your head for the rest of the day.
Advantages: A solid album of approachable, high-energy hard rock.
Disadvantages: Nothing too innovative or spectacular, but that's sort of the point.
When the Kite String Pops
Slip Sliding Away... To Death!
***
Written on 18.10.07
The long-defunct Acid Bath played a variety of sludge doom metal infused with influences from their native Louisiana roots, resulting in something of a cross between the gritty riffs of Black Sabbath, the Southern anger of contemporary groove metal bands like Pantera, and even some moderate outbursts of death metal. ‘When the Kite String Pops’ is the first of only two albums the popular outfit recorded before the death of bassist Audie Pitre from a collision with a drunk driver in 1997, when the band respectfully called it a day and frontman Dax Riggs went on to found a number of ambitious projects.
Acid Bath’s music is really more suited to the pent-up rage of moshing teenagers than self-satisfied metal nerds like myself, but the doom influence keeps this album of interest to me for the most part, even if I resent it a little for becoming overrated in the way all American bands inevitably do, in comparison to their hard-working European equivalents. Ranging frequently from violent cacophony to reflective calm several times within each song, with a couple of exceptions sticking steadfastly to each extreme, ‘When the Kite String Pops’ is a generous offering of fourteen similar-sounding songs to entertain patient listeners for just over an hour, provided they can stomach the aural assault and Dax Riggs’ deliberately violent, occasionally gruesome lyrics. Perhaps in a further bid for notoriety with the kids, the cover art is taken from a painting called ‘Pogo the Clown #15/Skull Clown #171’ by incarcerated serial killer and cannibal John Wayne Gacy. Perhaps I’m inferring too much of the band; maybe they just really liked the picture.
1. The Blue
2. Tranquilized
3. Cheap Vodka
4. Finger Paintings of the Insane
5. Jezebel
6. Scream of the Butterfly
7. Dr. Seuss is Dead
8. Dope Fiend
9. Toubabo Koomi
10. God Machine
11. The Mortician’s Flame
12. What Colour is Death?
13. The Bones of Baby Dolls
14. Cassie Eats Cockroaches
The style of this album varies very little throughout its extensive playing time, based primarily on simplistic, extremely down-tuned and distorted guitar riffs usually played at medium speed, with occasional outbursts into a thrash assault. The late Pitre’s bass is a key ingredient of the already bass-heavy sound, accompanying Sammy Duet and Mike Sanchez’s guitars or filling in when they’re absent, while Jimmy Kyle’s drums get plenty of time in the spotlight when the rest of the band’s backs are turned, and he gets to show off his clicky double bass pedals in performances reminiscent of Pantera’s Vinnie Paul. Riggs’ vocals are an interesting feature, equally weighted between a distinctive Southern U.S. low singing and distorted hardcore shouting, occasionally broadening his range in the softer songs. The band isn’t about skilled musicianship as much as it’s about the release of hatred and frustration at the end of the weekly grind, never making proper use of its two guitarists and clearly not paying any attention to the commercial prospects that would doubtless come their way if only they calmed down a little. The introductions and endings of a number of songs are infected with serious guitar feedback, clearly left it on purpose and adding to the generally stoned and careless attitude the band succeeds in conveying.
Doubtless angsty youths will appreciate the mindless assault of songs such as the opener ‘The Blue’ and the other speedy swear-fests such as ‘Cheap Vodka,’ ‘Jezebel’ and a couple of tracks towards the end, but these really aren’t for me. I’ve polluted myself so much with this heavy metal thing that sludge bands’ anger sounds practically contented compared to the more violent excesses of Scandinavian scene, and their attempts to shock or provoke appear fairly tame when viewed alongside the disgusting themes, album covers and lyrics of their own country’s brutal death metal. Far more interesting are the songs like ‘Tranquilized,’ which fittingly takes on a slightly slower, truly droning tone and entrances the listener for several minutes with a more modern equivalent of the Black Sabbath sound, throwing out the occasional random, squealing and pleasantly amateurish guitar solo as Riggs sings in a gruff-but-soft tone similar to bands such as Tool. The lengthy ‘Finger Paintings of the Insane’ is even better, featuring some plodding, doomy sections that sound a lot like Candlemass, and based around some very half-hearted lead melodies that play a little bit of an Egyptian theme, but then can’t be bothered. It’s cool, and Kyle’s drumming is used sparingly and ominously in the slower sections to create a great atmosphere; the only problem is the slightly muted vocal performance towards the end, which sounds like it might be rap (and there was me claiming proudly that I didn’t own any), but might just as easily be Riggs mumbling on about something or other. The listener really isn’t supposed to be paying attention by now, as whatever they’re smoking makes them more concerned with flying, or whatever those drugs make people do.
Perhaps my favourite song is oddly the biggest diversion of the whole album, the fully acoustic ‘Scream of the Butterfly.’ Clearly aiming to be this album’s ‘Planet Caravan,’ the band refrains from leaping into all-out noise despite prominent heavy percussion from Kyle that oddly doesn’t seem out of place with the laid-back bass and acoustic guitar. Riggs’ singing takes on a more traditional sound in this softer piece, sounding similar to rock bands of the time such as Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains, and it’s a really nice, almost psychedelic release that thankfully isn’t spoiled by the next song leaping back into heaviness straight away. Although it’s soon back to the normal order, ‘Dr. Seuss is Dead’ at least begins with some slow feedback and an enjoyable bit of groove metal. The penultimate ‘Bones of Baby Dolls’ is the other acoustic song on here, but a bit more forced and less refined, surrounded by the heaviest offerings of the album in the form of the energetic ‘What Colour is Death?’, annoyingly reminiscent of System of a Down in several places despite predating that ridiculously popular band, and the final ‘Cassie Eats Cockroaches’ that sees the band pour all of its remaining force into a near-death-metal attack interspersed with distorted but relevant samples from films, opening with a line from ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and ending the album with Riggs’ line: ‘they suck the meat from her bones.’ Just about sums it up really.
Acid Bath is a bit of a departure from the norm for me, but an interesting piece of nineties sludge-doom all the same. Although the annoying distorted shouting reminds me unpleasantly of later youth-angst bands like Slipknot, they suit the overall fuzzy sound of this release, particularly the droning guitars, and were clearly innovative at the time. Dax Riggs went on to found Agents of Oblivion, whose name begins with ‘Ag’ and will therefore clearly pop up in my review list some time in the near future. As for Acid Bath’s second album, I don’t think I’ll bother; this is all the Pantera-esque Southern violent doom I need in my life right now.
Advantages: Innovatively harsh-sounding, and effectively violent.
Disadvantages: Too aggressive at cost to creativity, and not enough focus on pure doom metal.
Starless and Bible Black Sabbath
Satan's Going Round the Bend
***
Written on 20.10.07
With its combined title paying tribute to two well-loved rock albums of the early seventies, ‘Starless and Bible Black Sabbath’ has thus far been the most prominent and (relatively speaking) high-profile release from Japanese experimental/psychedelic rock band The Acid Mothers Temple & the Cosmic Inferno, the most recent off-shoot of guitarist Kawabata Makoto’s prolific Acid Mothers Temple ‘collective.’ The album consists of a mere two songs but lasts for forty minutes; in the spirit of classic progressive rock, the title track is a mammoth recording lasting nearly thirty-five minutes, supplemented by a vastly different and much shorter companion piece. It’s also not the kind of album that could be easily approached by casual listeners, requiring, like much avant-garde music, a comprehensive knowledge of how music is supposed to sound in order to appreciate this for sounding so wildly different.
In truth, there’s nothing phenomenal or ground-breaking about this album, or the premise of releasing a part noise-rock, largely psychedelic record over thirty years since it all began, but it’s an enjoyable enough oddity even if, by its very nature, it’s not going to get played very often. The first song is partly a re-working of Black Sabbath’s classic self-titled song from their classic self-titled album, featuring a rainy intro, slow main section and spring into something slightly faster and more upbeat later on, but it’s by no means a simple cover song, an it does more than simply stretch the original to an unreasonable five or so times its acceptable length (though it does that as well). This music is loud and busy, as opposed to Sabbath’s loud and stoned approach, and even though the first eight minutes consist essentially of repeating the same dark and simple guitar riff, the band creates a great spacey atmosphere through the odd dual drums of Okana Futoshi and Shimura Koji, the bleeping and booping keyboards of Higashi Hiroshi and Tabata Mitsuru’s distant, echoed vocals.
The main instrument of note that clearly dominates and controls all the proceedings is Kawabata’s skilled guitar, which slips into solo often without the listener even realising it. His proficiency is deliberately toned down a little here to keep the song a little hypnotic and to avoid unnecessary distraction, and even though he replicates Tony Iommi’s original riff precisely, when the song hits its stride for seven or so minutes in the middle, the whole thing very soon becomes drowned in his solos to the extent that it doesn’t even matter. And it’s not like they were trying to hide their influence in any case, with a song title, album title and album cover all paying respect to those whacked-out Brummies. The song’s major drawback is simply that it’s far too long to maintain the listener’s interest, making it suitable only as background music or for the other purposes used by veteran fans of psychedelia, as the song only really changes with a pleasant bit of acoustic strumming in the last couple of minutes.
‘Woman from a Hell’ kicks up the speed by several thousand notches and shifts from psychedelic metal tribute to psychedelic punk tribute, but otherwise the ingredients and focus are all the same: Kawabata shows off with his guitar for a while, and everyone else bulks out the sound with zaps, crashes and wails. It’s a successfully energetic song, even if it does descend into outright obnoxious masturbation at the end, and I enjoy listening to absurdly talented guitarists showing off about once or twice a year, so it satisfies that part of me, as well as the part that enjoys hearing men make their guitars sound distinctly like 1980s video game music. The song crackles to death at the end, presumably to tie in with the beginning of the album in case anyone was mad or trippy enough to stick the thing on repeat, but listened to in isolation this is a very enjoyable song, even if it is once again rooted firmly in the past.
The Acid Mothers Temple & the Cosmic Inferno is an interesting musical project, but largely derivative of and less spectacular than many of the other, more prominent experimental groups working out of Japan and elsewhere, but as a sort of modern-day, drugged-up revamping of seventies staples, this album does its job satisfactorily. The oddest thing comes in the alleged King Crimson tribute which isn’t really noticeable, apart from some guitar tendencies that you could suggest were inspired by Robert Fripp if you were desperate to find a match. What’s more, that band’s ‘Starless and Bible Black’ was never even much of a classic anyway, being a hastily and quite shoddily produced bit of discography filler between classics of a similarly unreliable but interesting musical outfit. I can only surmise that Acid Mothers Temple members whiled away those lonely nights on tour by playing an album titles game, in which the last word of the first player’s title had to be the first word of the second’s. I guess this would have been the first move, after which only ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ could be played, after which you’re screwed.
Let’s face it, if any band’s going to spend their time playing pointlessly erudite games like that, it’s these guys.
Advantages: Varied styles to be enjoyed by psychedelic freaks and guitar fans.
Disadvantages: Highly derivative and overlong.
Dominate
Submit
***
Written on 25.10.07
The arrival of talented Brazilian vocalist Gustavo Monsanto signalled great things to come from Adagio, France’s answer to Symphony X, but unfortunately last year’s ‘Dominate’ failed to live up to their past glories. Gone are the impressive neoclassical elements for the most part, restricted to Stéphan Forté’s brief lead guitar passages in the style of Michael Romeo or a laid-back Yngwie J. Malmsteen, while Kevin Codfert’s keyboards now sound just about the same as every other power metal band that fancies itself as a bit progressive. One of the most noticeable and drastic changes is evident within the first minute of the album, as Monsanto’s pleasant mid-range singing gives way to one of the least effective death metal growls I’ve heard in a long time, as Adagio seemingly attempt to join the melodic death metal bandwagon despite sharing few other similarities besides a couple of particularly heavy passages in assorted songs that last for all of thirty seconds.
I’m being a bit harsh on this album, essentially a collection of quite enjoyable modern metal songs, but it’s because it disappointed me so much. Adagio’s ‘Underworld’ was an excellent release that combined the usually pretentious and tedious neoclassical metal genre with genuinely powerful and enjoyable prog metal in the vein of America’s Symphony X, but here that band’s influence is allowed to dominate (ironically), the only release being in the more traditionally power metal songs that owe equally to Brazil’s Angra and to older artists such as Dio. Note those names down if you didn’t know them already, and hunt their albums down, after which you can return to this as a sort of disappointing epilogue. Beginning as a seemingly straightforward prog-power album in the vein of Angra, something that wouldn’t have been entirely unpleasant, the rest of the songs tend towards blatant Symphony X forgery that are, at their best, effective but inferior copies of the real deal, and at their worst churn out a couple of cheesy eighties rock ballads. There’s even a pointless cover of Irene Cara’s ‘Fame’ that departs from the original in all but the vocal melody, yet doesn’t do anything interesting with the song (you know, THAT ‘Fame.’ Yeah, the eighties thing. No, not that one, that’s ‘Gold’ you’re thinking of, this is that other one that’s pretty much the same as that. Yeah, that one).
1. Fire Forever
2. Arcanas Tenebrae/Dominate
3. Terror Jungle
4. Children of the Dead Lake
5. R’Lyeh the Dead
6. The Darkitecht
7. Kissing the Crow
8. Fame
9. Undying [Japanese bonus track]
The first song is really good, even if it’s nothing new. A relatively straightforward power metal anthem permitted to mess around a little towards the end with some guitar noodling and a cool solo, this song is a great introduction for new vocalist Monsanto, even if his growls are a little distracting and unpleasant. His default range is great, booming in the middle like his finest contemporaries, and he has a good singing voice too, so it’s a shame he doesn’t use it more. Like most simple metal songs, this is mainly remembered for the enjoyable chorus in which Monsanto wails the title against a barrage of fast and nicely developed instrumentation, there really isn’t anything to fault this track as an album opener. The semi-title track is another good effort, although a little long, in which the heavier elements come to the fore with greater reliance on growled vocals and double bass drums complete with some blast beats and what the band imagines are black metal keyboard melodies. It’s a little confused, seemingly trying to earn praise for being heavier than it actually is in the style of many melodeath bands, but once again it’s the chorus that stays with the listener as they try to type a review afterwards, this time performed in the medium range to suit the slightly darker tone.
It’s with the third track that the album starts to disappoint by relying too much on its influences and essentially throwing out a number of songs that could be considered Symphony X B-sides. The way the drums and guitars hammer out clinically precise rhythms in perfect time with each other before giving way to a keyboard melody is taken straight from Symphony X, and even the main riff, once it develops, reminds me completely of that band around the period of the ‘V’ album, released six years earlier. This song is notable for a cool bass lead section, in which Franck Hermanny seems intent to prove his credentials by playing a number of unusual high notes before returning to his back seat, but once everything settles down into verses and choruses the style once again shifts into what I can’t help but identify as 90s Dio, using the same slowed, near-doom heavy riffs and vocal style as the former Black Sabbath frontman. Perhaps realising that there’s nothing left to lose, the band then transform into 80s Dio for ‘Children of the Dead Lake,’ though this more upbeat song is more interesting for its instrumental sections in the second half, culminating in a speedy piano ditty in the vein of Rimsky Korsakov’s ‘Sting of the Bumblebee,’ only less fun.
Perhaps the stand-out track of the album, though not quite my favourite, is also the last point at which the album is really worth listening to. The epic ‘R’Lyeh the Dead’ begins with yet another dingy keyboard intro, though this time extended as a proper introduction for this eight-minute piece, complete with what are probably synthesised violins but still sound very nice, before a dirty guitar crawls up into the tomb and unleashes the heaviest riffs of the album, accompanied by a steady and enjoyable drum beat. The reason this song works where track three failed is that the heavy sound here is a natural development of the band’s standard tone, rather than a blatant failed attempt to sound like death metal, although Monsanto does growl predominantly once again. The majority of the song is enjoyable and suitably demonic, excepting the light and cheerful keyboard solo that Codfert decided was a good idea to include for some reason or other, while the last few minutes are another chance for the band to show off within reason, and according to taste. It’s a little too long, but this is an enjoyable song that keeps the album from being a complete failure; it’s just a shame that everything afterwards is of little value.
‘The Darkitecht’ follows a similar formula to the rest of the album, beginning slowly with a section that seems to draw directly on Black Sabbath’s 1970 title song (Note: If you’re thinking of ripping something off and hope nobody will notice, don’t pick the very first metal song ever recorded), but the rest is the usual Symphony X worship, complete with a keyboard solo overlaid on top of an instrumental jam that could come from pretty much any of their early recordings. The fade out at the end would act as a form of relief, if not for the horror of the next song: ‘Kissing the Crow’ is without a doubt the worst song here and shatters the mould completely, a short piano ballad with soft singing that robs Monsanto of all his charm. After that comes the infamous cover of ‘Fame,’ unrecognisable until the chorus comes in and Monsanto delivers the well-known lines in a disinterested manner. There might be a guitar solo or something, I don’t really care. Many versions of the album conclude with the bonus track ‘Undying,’ which fits perfectly into the sound of the album and even tends a little more towards the power metal direction of the opening song, though by this point I was too fatigued and disillusioned by the preceding offerings to enjoy this average extra as much as I perhaps would otherwise.
I’d strongly advise against buying Adagio’s most recent album, not that any of you were going to anyway, and instead aim to track down their excellent ‘Underworld’ or perhaps the more highly rated albums of the bands they seem content to steal from, namely Angra’s ‘Temple of Shadows’ and anything from Symphony X. Gustavo Monsanto proves that he’s a great vocalist when he’s not trying too hard to sound angry, and Stéphan Forté has proven his guitar abilities many times, so I’m hopeful that this album doesn’t represent the start of a downturn for these otherwise impressive Gauls.
Advantages: Competent and enjoyable progressive power metal.
Disadvantages: A couple of terrible songs, and far too derivative of Symphony X.
Wigand
If You Go Down to the Woods Today...
**
Written on 27.10.07
‘Wigand’ is the second album from German folk metal band Adorned Brood, and seems to be generally considered by their small but loyal fan base to be their finest work. Incorporating a significant folk influence into their otherwise standard black metal sound, including prominent flutes, acoustic guitar and light percussion, listening to the album really gives the impression that it was recorded by travelling minstrels in a Rheinland forest sometime in the middle ages, convincing in all but the tell-tale electric guitars. Such a specialist and distinctive style of music is bound to be an acquired taste, and although I have listened to enough odd metal from across Europe to prepare me for Adorned Brood’s eccentricity, they unfortunately left me feeling unsatisfied. Folk-influenced black metal has been around for a significant time, particularly in the Swedish Viking metal scene, and although these Germans’ take seems rather interesting and overly dedicated at first, the repetitive sound and jarring elements make it a rather tedious chore to sit through these overlong compositions in one listen.
Adorned Brood are talented musicians, but far from being virtuosos, and the somewhat amateurish sound, while enjoyable, is also betrayed by the poor quality of the lyrics. Repeated themes of swords and battles with the occasional tip of the hat to Odin and his brethren present the standard, unsurprising folk metal subject matter, but it’s all too clear that the band’s grasp of the English language is far from fully developed. The use of broken English in the first half of the album is especially confusing even beyond the grammatical level, as this band’s primary audience will undoubtedly be in their homeland and those countries to the North-East, and folk-influenced black metal is perhaps the most common genre in which native language is encouraged, as it adds to the authentic, back-to-the-roots sound the bands are trying to go for. Bizarrely, the album shifts to German language half-way through and the lyrics become far more substantial and detailed, even if the themes are still a little redundant, inviting the obvious question of why it wasn’t kept German all the way through; it’s not as if the vocals, which are mainly growled, are understandable anyway.
Adorned Brood’s line-up has never been quite stable, and this was the last outing for several members of the original band. Frontman Teutobot Frost plays bass guitar, which is hardly audible in the typical fuzzy production, and his vocals follow the typical folk metal formula of inhuman-sounding black metal growls interspersed with more harmonious deep singing. Mirko “Pagan” Klier is joined by newcomer Andreas (replacing Oberon) on guitars, which are kept at natural standard tuning but fuzzed out once again by the production, and although this duty mainly requires speeding along with a repetitive riff in the majority of songs, there are a few interesting deviations, original riffs and fine acoustic touches to make the guitars the stand-out instrument of the piece. Mike “Ariovist” Engelmann provides both blasting black metal drums and the lighter percussion, and is adept enough to very between fast metal assaults and a slower tempo when required in this final outing with the band, while newcomer Ingeborg Anna really makes her presence felt in providing a few pleasant female vocals and a very dominant lead flute, which stands out clearly in the mix and is the main ingredient in nearly all songs to keep this distinctly ‘folk’ as well as metal.
1. Völüspa
2. The Way of the Sword
3. Spiritual Weaponry
4. Wapen
5. The Oath
6. Wigand
7. Zeichen von Zauberkraft
8. Jord Dvalin
I enjoy folk influenced metal, but for the most part this album sounds like rather bland nineties black metal attempting to set itself apart through the dominant presence of flutes. The only song that really stands out as a perfect meeting of the two genres is the excellent title track, which pulls out all the stops in featuring interesting and enjoyable guitar riffs and lead sections, interspersed with effective folk sections that don’t act as a distraction, and moving organically towards a nice ending led out by alternating male and female vocals. There’s a great deal of energy present in this song that is unfortunately lacking elsewhere in the recording after the opening song ‘The Way of the Sword’ (after the brief introductory track), which showcases everything that works about the band as well as demonstrating the limitations and problems with its sound. The shift from folk to metal in this song is all too sudden, with very obvious seams as the electric guitar kicks in and diffuses the pleasant atmosphere almost entirely, although the chirpy flute playing over the depressing, infernal din is a satisfyingly unusual audio experience that soon becomes quite old and repetitive as the album moves on.
The other major problems with these songs apart from the tedium and incompatibility of elements is the unjustified average length, as the tracks range from at least six minutes to nearly eleven after the afore-mentioned ‘The Way of the Sword’ which restricts itself to five. This music is largely about atmosphere and thus the length doesn’t always present an issue, but there are several instances where it really feels like the song should have concluded some time ago. The worst offender is ‘Wapen,’ the longest song on the album and one that fails to do anything remotely interesting with its allotted time span, even pausing for no reason at several points towards the end with a ‘false’ ending before the cheap sound effects of battle fade back in with unprofessional clumsiness and the guitar riffs return once more. The same thing happens with the next-longest piece, the penultimate ‘Zeichen von Zauberkraft’ which is far too repetitive, before a very confusing turnaround sees its successor ‘Jord Dvalin’ do the exact opposite, packing far too many style shifts and changes into ten minutes to make any kind of coherence whatsoever, even making me question whether this song was cobbled together from a set of unused ideas that couldn’t be incorporated into the others.
There is a general lack of professionalism throughout this whole album, which doesn’t present a major problem in terms of its small target audience, and does endear it to me somewhat, but the quality of songwriting is unfortunately reflective of the low budget. The folk elements are all quite nice, but become very similar-sounding after the first couple of songs, when Ingeborg Anna has done her best Ian Anderson flute impersonation and doesn’t really know what to do with herself any longer. The black metal is even more repetitive and dull, making the lengthier folk sections and entirely folk songs such as ‘The Oath’ the more entertaining parts of the album, generally speaking. Black metal fans will be irritated by the flutes and soft singing, while folk fans will obviously be scared back into the woods when encountering the harsh black metal on their travels, and even those who enjoy both in the music of bands such as Bathory, Månegarm and Týr will be used to folk metal of a significantly higher standard, where you can’t audibly hear the flute player taking a gasp of air before every melody. ‘Wigand’ is recommended only for folk metal/black metal fans who are curious about the incorporation of flute as a major instrument in place of lead guitars, but apart from the cool title track that uses all the band’s best ideas, there’s very little of interest after the first tenth of the album is over and done with.
Advantages: Interesting and dogmatic take on the folk metal genre.
Disadvantages: Becomes repetitive and dull fairly quickly, winding up discordant more often than harmonious.
My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go
Non-ish
**
Written on 28.10.07
Scotland’s Aereogramme was yet another bland and derivative act passing itself off as either indie or progressive rock, without really being either. ‘My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go’ is one of the shallowest and most boring albums I’ve come across for a long time, and it’s hard to believe that vocalist Craig B effectively disbanded the group due to problems caused by his vocal performance, which does indeed dominate the proceedings but only in the same hushed and squeaking manner as the minimal instrumentation. The only real function of this sub-‘Disintegration’ release could be as lullaby music, as this seems to be the inspiration, or at least the outcome of most of the pianos and timid guitars.
Like the Cure’s masterwork, this album incorporates synthesised orchestration and violins in an attempt to reach a grander, more eloquent sound, but the soundscape remains so quiet and inactive that it largely escapes the listener’s attention. The classical instruments come to the fore in ‘Barriers,’ which essentially means a slightly more interesting violin replacing the tedious David Gilmour styled guitar solo of songs like ‘A Life Worth Living,’ and ‘Nightmares’ fails miserably in its brief attempts to replicate Danny Elfman. This band has two guitarists in the form of Craig B and Iain Cook but this doubling up is largely superfluous, only really coming into play when acoustic and electric are played against each other in ‘Living Backwards,’ the only truly progressive or entertaining song on here that acts as a sort of dimly gleaming bit of glass in the arid musical desert.
I really was surprised at just how little there was to each song, most of which are based on a simple main melody or rhythm played either on hushed guitar or piano backed up by softly tapping drums, as if the whole band is scared of waking someone above the recording studio, or perhaps fearful that louder volume may reveal their lack of ability. The majority of choruses consist of Craig B squeaking the song’s title in endless repetition, and after four minutes we end up nowhere interesting at all, as another song comes on to replace its predecessor by sounding almost exactly the same. I’m not fond of Craig B’s effeminate voice, another Scot imitating an American, but thankfully the band seems to realise this and his most irritating performance yet on ‘The Running Man’ is mercifully followed by two more subdued offerings.
Aereogramme is (or rather was) yet another tediously tranquil indie band desperate to be picked out as ‘summer music’ by people who enjoy lying on beaches and spacing out to nothingness, even though their relaxation is constantly hampered by the nagging need to check whether the album is still playing, or if that’s just the gentle lull of the waves in the distance. I don’t really understand the need for music like this: not particularly relaxing due to the few louder moments and the prominent vocals, lacking entirely in energy, catchiness or hummability, and boasting repetitive and generic lyrics. Some would argue that less is more, but then what’s the reasoning behind the shoehorned orchestration? My guess is it’s there to cover up the lack of actual music being produced by the timid quartet. In any case, there are roughly infinity better bands out there to suit whatever occasion, season or mood the band’s previous management may have desperately tried to market them towards, so you’d be better off buying something according to random selection.
1. Conscious Life for Coma Boy
2. Barriers
3. Exits
4. A Life Worth Living
5. Finding a Light
6. Living Backwards
7. Trenches
8. Nightmares
9. The Running Man
10. You’re Always Welcome
11. Dissolve
Advantages: Could conceivably work well to lull babies to sleep, unless they're especially picky.
Disadvantages: Utterly boring and frustratingly quiet.
The Ancient Realm
Wanderer Returns
****
Written on 29.10.07
The most recent E.P. from Germany’s Aeveron (from Zwickau) sees them head towards an epic black metal direction without losing any of the pleasant melodies and harmonies that characterised their earlier upbeat death metal. Although black metal tends to be regarded with some disdain by the majority of people due to preconceptions of overly distorted production, identical-sounding songs and tendencies towards Satanism, this is only true for about 98% of bands. Only joking – in fact, much popular opinion of the genre is understandably influenced by the high profile of bands such as England’s own Cradle of Filth, whose mixture of tongue-in-cheek blasphemy and gothic fashion sense overpowers their music, which hasn't really been anything like black metal for about fifteen years. The infamous murders and church arsons of the early nineties carried out by young idiots at the forefront of Norway’s black metal movement add to this unfavourable impression, but over the years bands have increasingly experimented with the sound and taken it in new and interesting directions. This short but promising release from Aeveron combines several of these strands into one, creating something along the lines of melodic epic folk black metal that can be traced equally to their modern contemporaries in the genre, as well as the lighter gothic metal popularised by Finland.
The reflective, Tolkeinesque cover art epitomises this album’s sound, and divulges some clue for metal fans familiar with the likes of Summoning as to the grand, almost orchestral stance that these songs will take on. In truth, this is most prevalent in the penultimate song where the E.P. borders on more traditional black metal than the earlier offerings, which are still heavily influenced by the band’s previous style of melodic death metal. Each band member is referred to only by their first name, and it isn’t clear whether the obvious double vocal track represents the combined powers of vocalist Thomas and drummer Paul, who is also credited with vocals, or the result of over-dubbing Thomas on top of himself. The vocals are one of the album’s finest features either way, alternating between a primary black metal growl and far more pleasant singing in restricted sections of choruses, where Thomas (I assume it’s him) demonstrates his excellent voice. Matthias performs rhythm guitar while Kay handles the excellent leads, though there are times when twin lead guitars can clearly be heard – again perhaps due to overdubbing, I can’t be sure. Dirk’s bass doesn’t really do anything special, but then I always say that in album reviews, while the aforementioned Paul plays around nicely on the drums, refraining from blasting and double bassing his way through as lesser black metal drummers tend to. Completing the unit is Markus, whose keyboards are essential in creating the background atmosphere, while also being given free reign on occasion to twiddle around with pleasant melodies.
1. Far Beyond the Horizon
2. The Stranger
3. Fallen into Oblivion
4. Battle of Retaliation
5. For All Eternity
Although boasting five songs, this twenty minute E.P. more truthfully consists of three major songs lasting between five and six minutes, and shorter introduction and finale tracks of around two minutes. Despite obviously paling in comparison, these bookending pieces work perfectly for their intended purpose, and are essentially two halves of the same piece, similar to Pink Floyd’s ‘Pigs on the Wing.’ The first is performed entirely by the keyboard in a melody memorable enough to be recognised when the acoustic guitar takes it on in the final song, and a brief spoken word prologue typical of fantasy-themed metal leads the listener in to the excellent ‘The Stranger.’ It’s commendable that each song on this album is mixed specifically to flow into the next, making it an extended experience rather than a static precursor to an album, as these brief releases can sometimes be. As the first ‘proper’ song gets going, it’s instantly noticeable how clear and sharp the production job is, something that’s particularly surprising in black metal where bands often sound like they’re playing in an echoing tomb, either for financial reasons or aesthetic choice. While the clear smacking drums and commercially viable guitar sound wouldn’t suit the torturous subterranean grief of a Burzum album, they work perfectly here against the polished keyboards to define a vast landscape, and as such should be more approachable for newcomers.
‘The Stranger’ does indeed stand out as being the most Kerrang!-friendly of these songs, if the abysmal British “metal” publications had any interest in real metal as opposed to manufactured teen angst rubbish, as the black metal influence is all but hidden beneath pretty lead guitars, Metallica-style riffs and shiny keyboards that are more reminiscent of bands such as Him more than anything. While this does compromise its credentials as a metal anthem, it’s still a very enjoyable song that combines its multiple influences seamlessly, and the alternation between growls and clean singing are very well done, particularly as Thomas has a powerful masculine voice as opposed to one of those piercing emo-type things (this review seems to be tending increasingly towards targets of my hatred, I’ll try to reign it in). The guitar sections are cool, including the solo, but it’s a shame that the riffs are necessarily dull in comparison. Perhaps wary of falling into a commercial metal trap, the remainder of the E.P. seeks to establish its metal credentials. ‘Fallen into Oblivion’ takes some obvious hints from Children of Bodom in its foregrounded, obstructive keyboards, while the medium pace and tremolo-picking leads hark back to melodic death metal, but there’s enough variation in this one to make it equally as impressive as its predecessor. Thomas’ grunts are lower and more gurgly, and it’s a shame his singing is kept so limited, but it’s great to hear the folky section towards the end allowing for some clean acoustic guitar and soft percussion to balance out all the prior heaviness.
A keyboard fade-out links nicely to the introductory track as the E.P. consciously reaches its half-way point, before the finest song ‘Battle of Retaliation’ tears it in two and proves why the band are now considered a black metal act. The battle lyrics are highly audible despite Thomas’ complete reliance on grunts here, and although they offer nothing new whatsoever to a metal scene infested with fantasy geeks, they suit the music to a tee. Dazzling virtuoso displays are forsaken in favour of maintaining solid riffs, even present in the basic guitar and keyboard solos that seem in a hurry to be over and done with, and the song is frequently interrupted in a good way with a hammering effect provided by all the instruments in unison. It’s not as heavy as Emperor, as epic as Summoning or as geeky as Hammerfall, but this is still a fine song in the metal archive. The concluding track also fails to disappoint, improving on the prologue and managing to condense some of the album’s finest elements into remarkably short spaces of time, evident in the introduction of a lead electric guitar over the acoustic for something like thirty seconds at the end, which seemed like a lot longer.
The talented band members, successful grasp of structure and multiple influences make this a highly enjoyable release that promises great things to come from Aeveron, though there’s no news of a forthcoming album as far as I’m aware. The gothic metal influences will most certainly deter black metal traditionalists, and I can’t say I’m overly fond of them, but pleasant fruity keyboards have wormed their way into melodic forms of aggressive heavy metal, and we’ll all have to learn to live with it. The main problem with this release is that it’s hopelessly obscure, even for me, and can only really be obtained today through the band’s own website.
Advantages: Successful combination of metal influences, with a crystal clear production job.
Disadvantages: A little uneven and confused, and almost impossible to come by.
A Fire Inside EP
Open Wounds in the Palms of My Hands
****
Written on 24.06.07
Berkeley-based goth punks AFI are nowadays better known as the feminine frontmen of the ‘emo’ scene, and the majority of their fans probably have no idea that the angry schoolboys started out making albums that ripped off the Misfits.
This semi-self-titled 1998 E.P. captures the transition perfectly between the band’s early years as hardcore punk rockers, and the more successful Offspring-like direction they would embrace for what remained of the millennium before abandoning punk altogether in favour of mainstream success. Although it is incredibly short, comprised of four songs ranging from forty-six seconds to four minutes in length (two of which are covers), this E.P. sees AFI’s ferocity reach its zenith of intensity, while remaining admirably honest about their influences. Of course, most of all, it makes for a satisfyingly obscure collector’s piece.
The first two songs are probably the best material AFI had recorded up until this point, following a similar style to the previous album ‘Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes’ but excelling those mediocre offerings, while the starkly contrasting covers of the Cure at their most contemplatively atmospheric and the Misfits at their most pointlessly hostile round off this E.P. to a point nearing perfection, leaving the listener craving more material that was just over the horizon in the form of the ‘Black Sails in the Sunset’ album and the start of their real success. It’s easy to accept the only significant drawback of this release being under ten minutes long when viewed in the chronology of the band’s output, which consistently provided an AFI fix every year between 1995 and 2000 in the form of albums and original E.P.s, often twice within a year.
‘A Fire Inside’ stands out from the pile not only for its bold and simplistic cover art and fiery orange spine, but for its abnormal release on the independent record label Adeline, owned by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, as opposed to the band’s more common home at the independent record label Nitro, owned by the Offspring’s Dexter Holland and Greg K. Allegedly, the reason for the E.P.’s existence is AFI helping the Green Day frontman to get his record company off the ground, which explains the comparative lack of new material and decision to play cover songs. Nevertheless, the two songs that open this album betray no signs of lazy or rushed production, and could only have benefited from the increased focus.
1. 3½
2. Over Exposure
3. The Hanging Garden
4. Demonomania
Both the enigmatically titled ‘3½’ and more suggestive ‘Over Exposure’ deal with the common AFI and punk theme of standing apart from society. More specifically, the first is an angry fit of self-loathing, the chorus proclaiming ‘I’m so sick, so sick of myself’, while the more depressive speaker in the second describes and laments the unforgettable horrors of everyday life, finally begging, ‘can someone please take these images from my mind?’ Both songs inherit the recognisable sound of the previous year’s ‘Shut Your Mouth…’ album, but broaden the scope to include heavy metal influences that would never really surface again, and the hardcore that has crept in again more recently in its dissolution through emo.
The first song in particular shockingly opens with a heavy, down-tuned guitar riff playing alone, that reminds mostly of Metallica, a great swan song for original guitarist Mark Stopholese who would be replaced for the next album. Thereafter, Adam Carson’s drums and Davey Havok’s feminine vocals confirm that this is the familiar AFI, only with more testosterone and rage. The lyrics are grisly, narcissistic and depressing, enhanced by Davey’s tortured screams that alternate with his more common shouting-along of the verses, while the chorus features a classic bit of unison punk shouting in AFI’s distinctive pre-pubescent manner, everyone having to yell to be heard over the loud guitars.
After two and a half minutes, the song concedes to end in guitar feedback, offering an outburst of feelings without resolving an awful lot. That’s where ‘Over Exposure’ comes in, immediately veering off into a guitar riff that plays around the stereo before launching into a similar shoutathon to the previous number. After getting a couple of relationship issues off his chest, perhaps based on personal experience, Davey relaxes a little into more of a clean singing voice, just as the instruments noticeably slow down after each verse and chorus before plunging into the next one, the audio equivalent of a racing driver slowing down for the bends.
On the whole this is more intrinsically forgettable than ‘3½’, lacking a memorable riff and based more on lyrics than instrumentation, but together the two pieces form a perfect whole that was perhaps intentional, and clearly presented in the correct order. Many other bands would have simply combined the two in a medium length punk ‘epic’ of four and a half minutes (including the Offspring, as demonstrated on their contemporary album ‘Americana’), but that would have left buyers with only one new song on this release. I’m sure they made the right choice, I just can’t conceive of anyone deciding to listen to ‘Over Exposure’ in solitude when it works so much better as the second track.
The cover of the Cure’s ‘The Hanging Garden’ offers a relaxing centre to this E.P. that stands vastly apart from the rest for its slow pace and dreamy atmosphere. Davey does a passable impression of Robert Smith that’s probably more due to following the original song than deliberately attempting an accent, and it’s great to hear the musicians playing something radically different outside of their comfort zone – Mark filling the air with high and distant guitar melodies tinged with Eastern influence, Adam keeping a steady and prominent tribal drumbeat throughout, and new bassist Hunter Burgan filling in on lead duty in this predominantly clangy song. It’s not a Cure song I was previously familiar with but I expect it sounds much the same as the original, though probably with less melodramatic singing, and it does drag noticeably towards the end, especially in comparison to the previous songs, unlike its successor.
At forty-six seconds, a couple of which are merely standard silence at the end of the disc, some would question the point of including ‘Demonomania’ at all, perhaps even tracing it back to its origin in the Misfits’ ‘Earth A.D./Wolfsblood’ album and questioning the relevance of its very existence. It’s true that ‘The Hanging Garden’ would have made for a nice mellow closer to this E.P., allowing the listener to drift off into meditation and come out of the experience feeling comforted after the emotional torment of the first two songs, but it was never meant to be. What we have instead is a ridiculously short and pointless piece that doesn’t really say anything, but makes an awful lot of noise about it and ingrains itself into the listener’s head regardless, in the tradition of all the classic Misfits songs.
The ‘Earth A.D.’ album is a fitting source of inspiration, itself noticeably more hard-edged than the Misfits’ earlier output, which sounds a lot more like typical AFI, complete with ‘woah-oah-oahs.’ This E.P. follows Glenn Danzig’s example in unleashing some fury without fears of alienating anyone, and ‘Demonomania,’ while primitive and unremarkable in comparison to the output of either band, is at least fittingly brief and to the point, whatever that point may be (Davey sings that his father was a wolf, and doesn’t say much else). It’s jarring after the third track, and it’s so silly and brief that it’s possible that the band even included as an affectionate joke, rather than be the fiftieth punk band to release a cover of one of the more successful Misfits songs. It sounds pretty much identical to the original, the difference again being in the vocals despite the imitation of Danzig, and the production is a little neater than it was in 1983. It ends the E.P. on a fast and energetic note, opting to replace emotional baggage with unadulterated punk rock enjoyment, and as you can see, takes a lot longer to read or write about than to actually listen to.
‘A Fire Inside’ is the common extension of AFI, although whether this was originally true or not isn’t really of consequence. The striking flame letters and definitive title are not proclaiming this release to be the most pure and authentic AFI expression, as the band’s continuing evolution with every couple of albums, particularly at this point, would make such a guarantee impossible. Rather, this is a short release with a couple of fantastic ideas, rounded off with some nicely obscure choices of influential cover songs that integrate perfectly into the band’s sound. The interior artwork is rather nice, featuring flames behind the lyrics and similar Medieval wood carving motifs to the previous album, but this is essentially a very basic set, and one that is more often than not often over-priced.
Along with the later ‘All Hallows E.P.,’ an even better collection of four completely original AFI songs produced between albums in the band’s most productive and creative period, this is an essential stepping stone between the major albums, and something that shouldn’t be ignored in the way that the ‘Black Sails E.P.’ and ‘Days of the Phoenix E.P.’ can be avoided by all but the most die-hard collectors for containing material from the longer albums. ‘3½’/‘Over Exposure’ deserves the attention of an AFI best-of collection more than anything released in their earlier, more derivative years, and the ever-fading presence of this release is doubtless a regrettable consequence of its small-fry label, which only adds to the price.
Half essential and half frivolous enjoyment, ‘A Fire Inside E.P.’ should be the first port of call for newer fans exploring backwards through the catalogue past ‘Black Sails in the Sunset.’
Advantages: Two excellent original songs, and good choice of cover songs.
Disadvantages: Nine and a half minutes long.
All Hallow's E.P.
Halloween Themes
****
Written on 31.10.07 [Nice of me to organise my own Halloween special]
Before they became a mainstream/sell-out rock band (delete as appropriate), Californian goth-punks AFI were the most consistent and prolific staple of Nitro Records, a punk label owned by the Offspring’s Dexter Holland and Greg K. Released in time for Halloween 1999, the ‘All Hallow’s E.P.’ contains three completely original songs and one highly appropriate Misfits cover, all of which stand up equally against the material of the lengthier albums surrounding this release, namely 1999’s ‘Black Sails in the Sunset’ and 2000’s ‘The Art of Drowning.’ Stylistically, thematically and production-wise, this E.P. forms a perfect bridge between those two landmark releases, and for fans it should be considered an essential companion piece (and thankfully, a cheap one too).
It’s not clear whether AFI had these songs lying around and wanted to lay them down on CD quickly rather than waiting for the next album (which turned out not to be lacking in high quality material itself), or if a conscious decision was taken to rush out a short release to cash in on the Halloween season, but either way the songs bear no tell-tale signs of being unfinished or otherwise rushed into production. With the obvious exception of the Misfits cover song, each track follows a new direction based on the bass-driven, slightly aggressive sound of ‘Black Sails in the Sunset,’ while incorporating some of the lead guitars that would later characterise ‘The Art of Drowning,’ similarly featuring a mix of Davey Havok’s punk yell and softer singing, though tilted in favour of the former. As a fan of both of those albums, this E.P. is surprisingly satisfying as a middle ground, and along with the earlier and even more distinctive ‘A Fire Inside E.P.’ it should form a part of any dedicated fan’s collection.
1. Fall Children
2. Halloween
3. The Boy Who Destroyed the World
4. Totalimmortal
This thirteen minute E.P. plays out pretty much as would be expected, with a couple of quite glaring and disappointing deviations. The music is fast and highly energetic, the lyrics are intelligent and soppy enough to make goth girls cry happy tears, and the polished production gives everything a clean and inoffensive feel, far removed from the dirty garage punk of the band’s predecessors and influences. This is something that counts against the cover of the Misfits’ ‘Halloween,’ which entirely lacks the spookiness of the original by polishing up the guitars and, unavoidably, substituting Havok’s adolescent yelp in place of Glenn Danzig’s immortal croon, but the cover of this simplistic song is performed adequately and largely inoffensively. AFI’s own material appears far more complex and progressive in comparison, each of the three songs featuring a significant break of style at one point to offer something more reflective despite the relatively short playing time of each, and all three would stand out among the finest songs of even the best AFI album.
Starting from the top, ‘Fall Children’ begins with a sort of quiet invocation before launching into full-blown punk rock with everyone working at full pelt, and Hunter Burgan’s clunking bass leads the rip-roaring verses along as Jade Puget’s guitars rise and fall. This style continues into ‘The Boy Who Destroyed the World,’ as does the tendency for the band to shout backing “woah-oah-oahs” in unison to punctuate each of Havok’s lines, and there’s even an extended “woah-oah-oah-oah-oah-oah” section presumably aimed at live audiences, reminiscent of similar sections tactfully inserted for the same purpose into everything released by Iron Maiden. ‘The Boy Who Destroyed the World’ is, if anything, even better than the first song, introduced by a brief drum roll from Adam Carson (winning the prize for band member with the least adventurous name), and managing to stay fun and upbeat despite its forlorn subject matter that nevertheless avoids spiralling into true despair or anger. The final, shortest song ‘Totalimmortal’ is the best of the lot, and was soon released as a black-and-white music video showing the band hanging around some graves to show how goth they are, with the most creative and memorable guitar and bass lines taking turns to show off. It’s bouncy, meaningful, pleasant and once again sneaks in a tempo change with a bass-driven bit towards the end, though I’ve always found the higher-pitched moments of the chorus to be a little piercing. Still, that’s nothing compared to the truly grating performance of Dexter Holland when the Offspring covered it for the film ‘Me, Myself & Irene.’
There’s a further problem with this album beyond occasional cringe-inducing shrieks, and it comes with the devious and ultimately irritating addition of pointless interludes between the songs, seemingly in an attempt to make the E.P. appear longer than it actually is. ‘Fall Children’ ends with about thirty seconds of what sounds like a typical child’s musical mobile or lullaby and ‘The Boy Who Destroyed the World’ ends with an abrupt thunderclap followed by some rain for a short time, both of which are acceptable and add a little character to the songs, but my main objection comes with the time-wasting “outro” of ‘Halloween,’ which lasts nearly two minutes and is thus even longer than the song itself, which ends around the 1:40 mark. It’s not even creative or fun, sounding simply like someone has opened up a piano to mess around with its innards for a couple of minutes, and there’s no way anyone listening to this E.P. more than once would fail to skip it in frustration. These grievances aside, the ‘All Hallow’s E.P.’ was the last great in-between offering from AFI and their final release of the 90s; one that will still be highly in demand as the band achieves greater and greater success, as the songs still remain unique to this recording.
The big question we have to ask, on this of all days, is how accurately does the E.P. reflect the spirit of Halloween? The answer is, not a great deal: like all AFI of this era, the gothic sentiment is there, but it’s all wrapped up in upbeat guitars and energetic, boyish yelling rather than anything truly “horror”-inspired like the earlier work of the Misfits, and this extends to the cover art. Alan Forbes was AFI’s regular artist during their tenure with Nitro (he also illustrated the Offspring’s ‘Conspiracy of One’ around the same time), and the cover art of this E.P. is slightly inferior to his work on the surrounding albums. There are a few Halloween staples, namely a scarecrow, pumpkins (on the back cover) and a sort of cat, but the whole thing is a little too cartoonish. The main problem comes in the chirpy colour scheme, which doesn’t even include a properly darkened sky, and despite the many years I’ve owned this release, I’ve never been able to look at that yellow band logo without thinking of bananas.
And what’s so scary about bananas?
Advantages: Three high quality, totally unique songs (and one quite good Misfits cover).
Disadvantages: Irritating interludes.
New Wave
Jackal in Heat
****
Written on 03.11.07
This summer’s major label debut from Florida’s ‘Against Me!’ is one of the best mainstream rock albums I’ve heard in many years, and despite finally severing all ties to frontman Tom Gabel’s acoustic origins it retains enough raw force and punk aggression to satisfy old fans, while using catchy hooks to reel in those old favourites of mine, the general public.
If we’re supposed to take the lyrics of the title track seriously, Gabel intends this album to represent the crest of a new wave in the music industry, hopefully producing something new and original despite the inevitable copy-cat acts that will follow in its wake. While this album doesn’t exactly possess the influential power of producer Butch Vig’s more recognised hits such as Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ and the Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘Siamese Dream,’ its slick consistency (edited down to only ten songs and thirty-three minutes) was at least enough to inspire Australia’s Ben Lee to record an acoustic cover version of the whole thing just for fun, and stick it up on his website at http://www.ben-lee.com/blog.htm (Bear in mind that he is Australian, and his over-zealous enthusiasm should not be considered representative of the album’s effect on normal people).
This isn’t a great album, but it’s a very good one. There’s a nice mix of styles from the shamelessly chart-oriented ‘Thrash Unreal’ to the angry tracks later in the album, and even some near-psychedelia in the finale seemingly inspired by the Doors. Other influences from classic punk rock to modern rock abound, thankfully bypassing indie, and there are even some apparent, perhaps unintentional nods to bizarre sources such as 80s gay dance-pop act Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Gabel’s vocals keep the whole thing grounded in traditional gruff rock and roll, while his guitars and those of James Bowman vary from background filler in the verses to some enjoyable solo spots indebted to classic punk in my favourite tracks. Thanks to the polished production, Andrew Seward’s bass can be heard plodding along, though never really doing anything of interest, while the few opportunities drummer Warren Oakes is granted outside of keeping up a medium tempo never go too far into virtuoso territory to alienate casual listeners. Aside from a brief and uninspiring duet with Tegan Quin in track six, there’s very little studio trickery involved in the way of sound effects or samples to intrude on the basic purity of the instruments, though Butch Vig’s famous overdubs are still applied in full force to add volume to some of the harder riffs. Against Me! aim to take rock music into the future by looking back to the past.
1. New Wave
2. Up the Cuts
3. Thrash Unreal
4. White People for Peace
5. Stop!
6. Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart
7. Piss and Vinegar
8. Americans Abroad
9. Animal
10. The Ocean
With a combined playing time of just over half an hour, it’s clear that none of these songs will plunge into elaborate, sustained outbursts of Onanistic progressive rock, and for the most part the editing is just right, the average length being just over three minutes (it doesn’t take a Hawking to figure that one out). Thus we have predictable, repetitive, distinctly average opener ‘New Wave’ setting up the general concepts of the album – gruff but friendly masculine vocals, memorable choruses and occasional punk outbursts of guitar solo – before sinking to ever more interesting depths. ‘Up the Cuts’ is a big improvement and one of my favourites on the album for its increased energy, evident in Gabel having to yell over the volume of his guitar (thankfully without reverting to hardcore shouting that would really spoil things) and featuring a greater focus on instrumentation at no cost to the overall enjoyment. Other songs following this successful, albeit highly seventies-derivative style are the album’s first single ‘White People for Peace,’ which even has a classic-sounding and cutely flawed punk chorus in which Gabel’s anarchistic lyrics are a little too detailed to actually fit the melody (“protest songs / inresponsetomilitaryoppression”), and my favourite ‘Piss and Vinegar’ which, as can probably be deduced from the title, is a full-blooded celebration of punk. The lyrics are typically anti-establishment, attempting to prove that these musicians are still true to themselves as many such bands feel compelled to sing about when promoted to a corporate label, and the whole thing is driven by the best and most prominent guitars of the album. Even the slightly annoying addition of the record’s only hardcore scream is negated by a pleasant “woah-oah-oah” section shortly afterwards, keeping the punk rock yin-yang intact, while the more mediocre later song ‘Americans Abroad’ ends with an amusing “f*** off,” seemingly out of nowhere.
That’s not to say that the remainder of the album is less satisfying, though its tendency to focus on catchier, slower songs is only really successful when going the full way and stripping down any pretensions to still being rock. The oddly titled ‘Thrash Unreal’ is the unapologetic single (actually the second to be released, but the highest charting by far), its use of a capella vocals and cheesy “ba-ba-ba-da-da” chorus not impressing me much (entirely lacking the beauty of a “woah-oah-oah” chorus. I require medical attention), but the worst offender is the shortest song ‘Stop!’, which not only seems too short to be of any value, but sounds an awful lot like Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘Relax.’ Which I guess is okay if you’re into that kind of thing, but it’s not exactly what you’d hope for when buying a rock album with a tiger’s snarling face on the front promising some real aggro, is it? This animal itself seemingly comes into play with the slower, country-tinged number simply titled ‘Animal,’ which ends up a little dull but makes for an interesting departure nonetheless, while we sail around full circle and return to the theme of the ocean with the final song, imaginatively titled ‘The Ocean.’ This is a nice piece of The Doors-style psychedelia, utilising some interesting guitar distortion in-between the almost spoken word lyrics that blend the metaphor of an ocean inside oneself with simpler, more literal observations about dolphins swimming and stuff. It’s good.
Against Me! is a contemporary rock band on the rise, and one I’d certainly be interested in checking out further. Their committed approach to making modern rock that doesn’t pander to current trends is refreshing, particularly as I hate pretty much all the current trends and clearly always will (I am something of a world-despising curmudgeon, as you may have observed over the course of my reviews), and it offers enough interesting metaphors and thematic trickery to please pretentious listeners like myself, namely in its repetition of the ocean theme, without indulging in the recent resurgence of prog indulgence. The wave the band is riding is still fairly small, but gaining in strength, and in a year or two I can easily visualise their next album crashing onto the shores and obliterating coastal fishing villages as the band takes control of the mainstream (‘stream,’ do you see?) Perhaps I should leave the metaphors to the songwriters.
Advantages: Highly energised, tightly packed slab of contemporary rock, with no indie influence in sight.
Disadvantages: Relies on older styles as much as it forsakes the modern.
Of Stone, Wind and Pillor
My Land of Frostbitten, Ageless Night
****
Written on 19.07.07
One of the most interesting American metal bands of this decade, Agalloch combines elements of European neofolk, doom and depressive black metal and fuses them with the burgeoning American post-metal sound of bands such as Isis. All this genre name-dropping may be a bit confusing and off-putting, but it combines to give Agalloch a refreshingly unique and inimitable sound that still has solid foundations in bleak transatlantic music.
Each of the band’s major releases has been wide enough apart to properly demonstrate its transition, and focus on quality over quantity. To satiate fans craving for more from the increasingly acclaimed Portland group, Agalloch have mercifully released several intermittent E.P.s between the major releases, of which 2001’s ‘Of Stone, Wind and Pillor’ is the most significant and eagerly anticipated. Released over a year before the second album ‘The Mantle,’ this five song E.P. provides a greater insight into the band’s evolution with songs from as early as the 1997 demo, a few later songs that can essentially be seen as B-sides to the full-length ‘Pale Folklore,’ and a brand new song to demonstrate Agalloch’s new softer sound, which balances their influences more evenly than the black metal-oriented debut and is also highlighted by the interesting choice of an English neofolk cover song of Sol Invictus.
1. Of Stone, Wind and Pillor
2. Foliorum Viridium
3. Haunting Birds
4. Kneel to the Cross
5. A Poem By Yeats
The album cover, band photos and song titles give a clear indication that this is to an extent woodland-based music, and indeed that is the mental image conjured by the sweeping orchestration, folk guitars and crackling fire effects. It’s a less threatening wilderness than that conjured by the earlier ‘Pale Folklore’ and the ambient black metal bands it drew its inspiration from, particularly Ulver’s first album ‘Bergtatt,’ but it’s still a far cry from a cheerful hand-clapping rendition of Kum Ba Ya. The mood of the dual acoustic song ‘Haunting Birds’ is one of deep contemplation, and the fire that creeps in at the end would be one absently stared into by all present as they contemplate their lives, rather than toast marshmallows. This song is a perfect showcase of the band’s unplugged side to contrast with the heavy presence of keyboard and distortion elsewhere, with crashing drums heard far away as a menacing but distant threat in a technique pretty much lifted from Ulver’s ‘Een Stemme Locker’ and later re-used on the final song of ‘The Mantle.’
The other instrumental is an older song, which is unsurprising considering its similarity to the beautiful ‘The Misshapen Steed’ from Agalloch’s debut. ‘Foliorum Viridium’ evokes a similar atmosphere to its acoustic neighbour, but this time in full daylight in a panoramic sweep of forest landscapes depicted by a soft keyboard lead over soaring violins and a lead cello section. It’s understated enough to avoid approaching the realm of film soundtrack, and is simply a peaceful ambient piece that opts to leave all thoughts of metal behind it, although it pales in comparison to similar songs on more substantial releases. The final song, ‘A Poem By Yeats,’ aims to be more majestic with a prominent rising violin repeated over John Haughm’s spoken word rendition of Yeats’ ‘The Sorrow of Love,’ and this time thoughts of a film score aren’t so far away. Yeats’ ‘lyrics’ can hardly be heard as Haughm chants them in the first section before taking a more standard monotone, but it still works excellently and at no points feels like a cheap, gimmicky B-side tagged on to increase the track length, though the final four minutes of complete silence are an irritating addition. The violin ‘swells’ are hardly original, but can’t help but move me, reminding me of the final song from My Dying Bride’s ‘Like Gods of the Sun.’
With the shorter and perhaps more forgettable pieces dealt with, the two main pillars of ‘Of Stone, Wind and Pillor’ are the excellent title track and the cover of Sol Invictus’ neofolk song ‘Kneel to the Cross.’ The first is a fair preview of the sound to come on ‘The Mantle,’ based on alternating acoustic and electric guitars at a fairly slow but steady pace, with a great balance between being gloomy and vicious, and melodic and catchy. After the acoustic guitar introduces the song and sets the tone, the metal comes in for the only real time on this release, and again still reminds me mostly of Ulver at this point in the band’s development. Haughm screeches his lyrics in a mostly indecipherable black metal growl (apart from a shockingly vulgar final pronouncement), and ties in excellently to the restless and constantly changing melodic lead guitar and riffs. Those unaccustomed to growling vocals would most likely approach this song with a degree of confusion, as the inhuman screams contrast starkly with the generally pleasant-sounding instruments, and in this case I tend to agree that clean singing vocals would have been more appropriate, even if Haughm’s singing voice (as demonstrated on ‘Kneel to the Cross’) takes an equal amount of getting used to. The second half of this ever-changing song is where the aforementioned catchiness comes in, with a gothic-sounding guitar and drum rhythm reminiscent of Katatonia’s influential ‘Brave Murder Day’ album providing a bouncing point for some great, slow guitar solos that lead the song out.
As I’ve never heard the original version of ‘Kneel to the Cross’ I’m unable to make a comparison, though it’s certainly intrigued me about Sol Invictus and that whole school of home-grown neofolk, but this was an excellent and unusual choice of cover song. I could do without the opening, in which Haughm repeats the same line over and over in his nasal clean voice over a backdrop of keyboard and organ melodies, and if this wasn’t a cover I’d once again link it right back to Ulver, this time their experimental and rather dodgy ‘Themes From William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’ release. A sudden pause makes way for much better things, and the more familiar acoustic guitar and drums return, the latter resonating nicely in what proves to be easily the most upbeat sounding cut of the E.P. The electric guitar can still be heard filling in the spaces in the background along with the reliable but ultimately unremarkable bass, but this is really a demonstration of the band’s folk roots to follow on from ‘Haunting Birds.’ It’s probably the most enjoyable part of the E.P. For being so different, but of equal value to the first and third tracks. It’s also the only song that can be easily found elsewhere, on a later compilation of Sol Invictus cover material.
‘Of Stone, Wind and Pillor’ is primarily a piece of fan merchandise, generously provided to ease the wait for Agalloch’s second full-length album and providing some nice rarities and effective B-side instrumentals to go with it. At twenty-five minutes (excluding the pointless pause at the end of the final song), there’s not really enough room to explore the intricacies of Agalloch’s sound, especially as two of their currently three albums are dominated by multi-part epic compositions, and also because the band’s sound continues to change substantially every few years. Nevertheless, anyone who enjoys ‘The Mantle’ or even ‘Pale Folklore’ or perhaps the more recent ‘Ashes Against the Grain’ should place this high on their list of releases to check out, as well as the albums I can’t help but repeatedly cite as a direct influence.
‘Foliorum Viridium’ is taken from Agalloch’s first demo, which I would guess is extremely hard to come by and only worthwhile for the most hardcore fan of their early sound, and as mentioned earlier the Sol Invictus cover was later added to a compilation. There’s still enough enjoyable unique material here to keep this bizarrely titled release slipping into oblivion for many years to come, especially if Agalloch’s music continues to improve and achieve even greater acclaim. Of course, another release may take a few more years yet.
Advantages: An interesting and highly atmospheric selection of songs displaying different sides of Agalloch.
Disadvantages: With only five songs, the weaker ones are more of a problem.
Tomorrow Will Never Come
Mad Chicken
**
Written on 04.11.07
Portland’s Agalloch are one of the most interesting and creative metal bands remaining in America, despite (or perhaps due to) their primary influences far to the East... or is it West from over there? While their impressive, epic debut ‘Pale Folklore’ could have fooled Norwegian black metal bands into thinking it sprung from their nation’s own sonic loins, its long-awaited successor ‘The Mantle’ saw the band reach new heights of creativity, combining the bleak atmosphere and often harsh sound of their debut with delicate and equally skilled acoustic passages, still essentially continuing where Ulver left off but incorporating diverse influences from more local nature, cinema and art to produce a truly magnificent album. Agalloch toured extensively in the following years before updating their sound once again to the post-metal influenced ‘Ashes Against the Grain,’ constantly in motion but never skipping a beat.
So why is this release so rubbish?
The primary reason is that this limited edition, ultra-collectable E.P. was never intended for actual listening, distributed at shows and through personal contact as a range of only five hundred hand-signed vinyl records; the band could have recorded anything onto its short playing time and it still would have been snapped up by a loyal and ever-increasing fan base. As it happens, the material is all new and exclusive... in a way. Unlike the previous E.P. ‘Of Stone, Wind and Pillor,’ originally useful as a preview of the band’s new direction with ‘The Mantle’ and now still essential as that bridge between the early albums, ‘Tomorrow Will Never Come’ was always strictly a release aimed purely at hardcore collectors. Which is fortunate, as no one else would realistically be able to come by it, unless they enjoyed spending frivolously on eBay.
The two songs included here are unique to this E.P., though opening instrumental ‘The Death of Man (Version III)’ is, as the title suggests, a mere remix; and not a particularly impressive one at that. The acoustic melody and booming, echoed percussion will be disappointingly familiar to anyone familiar with ‘The Mantle,’ and far from being a logical or satisfying continuation of that album’s recurring musical theme, this is simply an exact reproduction of that album’s introductory track, slightly lengthened by adding a spacey intro and jazzed up with some discordant background effects, greater use of electric guitar fuzz, and bell chimes that add the distinct flavour of a Western to a song I originally envisioned taking place in the same dead and bitterly frozen forest that most of Agalloch’s music transports me to. It’s still a nice song, but as an entire side of vinyl it feels rather pointless, while its very nature as a near-identical replica of something even the most casual Agalloch fan already owns takes it into further realms of non-necessity.
So there we have it, one side over and done with, and the only real charm of this E.P. is whatever remains on the reverse. Another pleasant acoustic song played around the band’s dwindling campfire, ‘Tomorrow Will Never Come’ is nice enough, but hardly provides enough reason to justify the effort of tracking this thing down. The guitar strumming is excellent as expected, the marvellously human flaws making it even more flawless, and once again takes the listener on a musical journey from a minute-long jangly introduction through the main section, composed against sound clips from a documentary on schizophrenia. As the voices become more animated and distressed the guitar responds accordingly, before finally returning to a peaceable melody after everything cools off. There are some distinctly weird touches added to this song that serve to make it more disturbing and also more inviting to repeated listens, as whatever form of keyboard or synthesiser is providing the background effects switches between a distracting buzzing sound, like a bee or UFO, and a more pleasant and nautical accordion effect. Overall, this song is nice as an experiment into relationships between an evolving drama and its musical accompaniment (or to use the more general term, a soundtrack), but doesn’t represent a lost Agalloch classic so much as something guitarist Don Anderson could have cobbled together on a rainy day, when his parents forbade him from journeying into the woods to jam with his friends. There are many better examples of his talents in pretty much everything else the band has released, apart from this E.P.’s even less prestigious successor, ‘The Grey.’ You should definitely check out Agalloch, but not here, not like this.
Advantages: Another nice acoustic song from Don Anderson.
Disadvantages: A pointless remix, and a pointlessly obscure release in general.
Agathodaimon
The Rape and Ruin of Angels
***
Written on 06.11.07
Germany’s Agathodaimon (named after an ancient alchemist) followed loyally in the footsteps of black metal bands such as England’s Cradle of Filth and Norway’s Dimmu Borgir by infusing their dark music with increasingly prominent symphonic elements, eventually abandoning black metal altogether and heading into the bland pastures of generic gothic garbage. The one part of the process they failed to mimic was the bit where they sign the large record contract and receive loads of money, cars, undefiled virgins and things, but everyone makes mistakes.
‘Blacken the Angel’ is the band’s first full-length album following a number of demos and shorter releases, and it will certainly appeal to fans of those aforementioned bands as well as fans of melodic- or symphonic-based extreme metal in general, though it’s destined to be something of a mediocre backburner whichever way it’s taken. It’s not a bad album, but in maintaining a tempo that ranges from slow to medium with only short and ultimately disappointing bursts of speed, and deviating little from its selection of repetitive guitar riffs, boring backing drums and polished keyboard melodies, it’s more suited as background or atmospheric music than something you could put on when craving some dirty black metal enjoyment (which we all need every once in a while). At one hour and one minute in length it tends to drag on, particularly in the longer songs (the longest of which is an unreasonable and unexciting fifteen minutes), but assuming you’re in the required peaceful, pensive, slightly sombre and easily distracted mood, it works nicely as a soundtrack. Luckily for me, that’s my emotional state about ninety-five percent of the time (the other five percent is when something exciting happens in ‘Count Duckula’).
A reviewer on another website bizarrely described this as an album of ‘ballads,’ which clearly brings his sanity into question, though I can see what he was getting at (he’s still mad though). Right from the opening song, many offerings of this album sound like what would typically be considered the compulsory ‘slowie’ from a Cradle of Filth album, but placed alongside each other in this manner they do lose a lot of their inherent impact and charm. The album compensates somewhat by balancing this out with roughly half of the songs taking on a more sinister and heavier edge, though ultimately these tend to be the weaker pieces, lacking any real punch through their lethargic and cleanly processed delivery and relying too much on the repetition of unimaginative guitar riffs and even worse drums. The first few tracks maintain this balance fairly nicely, but as the album draws to a close it becomes increasingly evident that the band has started recycling ideas, sometimes entire songs, in their goal of surpassing the hour mark.
1. Tristetea Vehementa
2. Banner of Blasphemy
3. Near Dark
4. Ill of an Imaginary Guilt
5. Die Nacht des Unwesens
6. Contemplation Song
7. Sfintit Cu Roua Suferintii
8. Stingher / Alone
9. After Dark
10. Ribbons / Requiem
Due to the early involvement of Vlad Dracul (perhaps not his real name?) before he was deported back to Romania, some of the lyrics are in his native tongue, while others reflect the band’s German origins, though the majority are in English and concern the usual themes of sadness, death, forlorn lovers and angel desecration. Vlad’s vocals are carried out in the typical black metal growl, never becoming too expressive to break the mood and even overlapping in duets with himself, and later a female guest singer to take this into the slightly more pompous realms of a musical tragedy. The guitars mostly recycle fairly generic riffs, but some songs such as the lengthy ‘Near Dark’ and ‘Stingher / Alone’ feature some nice leads and harmonies, even if there’s never anything too creative. Vampallens’ keyboards are perhaps the real highlight, draped over the whole thing to add a certain degree of grandeur and melody while also working to enhance the more deliberately raw sections when notably absent, such as in the song ‘Sfintit Cu Roua Suferintii’ which strives to attain the primitive sound of early, catchy black metal, without really succeeding.
The two opposing styles of slow-pleasant and slow-heavy mentioned earlier become fairly dull and routine before too long, making the early examples of their style the more interesting. Opener ‘Tristetea Vehementa’ is one of the most enjoyable songs of the album, never seeming too long despite lasting eight minutes especially when compared to the overlong track three, with a chorus that manages to stay memorable and some nice variations on tremolo-picking riffs and keyboard varnish. While the celebrated ‘Near Dark’ accomplishes similar goals it takes far too long to do so, the seemingly endless, similar-sounding verses being a hefty price to pay for some nice guitars towards the end, and it’s only really at the very end of the album with ‘Ribbons / Requiem’ that we’re given a melodic song of comparable worth, though of course by then it’s far too late. It may even take several minutes for you to realise the album has long since finished as it proceeds to just sort of fade out when it’s had enough.
The darker edge is held up by the songs ‘Ill of an Imaginary Guilt,’ ‘Die Nacht des Unwesens’ and ‘After Dark,’ all continuing the sound established in ‘Banner of Blasphemy’ of dull, mechanical-sounding chugging riffs and militaristic drums. Each one tries to set itself apart through some jarring gimmick or style shift, from track two’s spoken word to the squealing fret-pinching that makes ‘Ill of an Imaginary Guilt’ the worst song on the album for trying to be a Machine Head B-side, while both ‘Die Nacht...’, ‘Stingher / Alone’ and ‘After Dark’ manage to pull off more energetic, faster sections with some degree of skill before slipping back into the tedious plod of the rest of the album, the last song in particular managing to set itself apart the least, though this could have something to do with its undesirable position right near the end. There’s a pleasant but rather insubstantial interlude in the form of the sixth track, performed by Vampallens’ classically-tinged keys against Matthias Rodig’s slowest drums yet, which could be substituted in place of the album if you fancied a two minute edit without all the terrifying shouting.
Agathodaimon’s debut is far from a compulsory purchase, but it’s enjoyable enough if you’re familiar with the genre and can successfully relax to the strains of a cacophony of instruments and screeched vocals as I tend to, and it’s almost certainly better than the ‘gothic metal’ they allegedly moved into hereafter, which brings to mind some truly horrible bands. The atmosphere is consistent throughout, which is both an advantage and a hindrance depending on what you expect to gain from this listening experience, meaning that even the long ‘Near Dark’ could become a firm favourite. Personally, I tend to prefer the more creative moments that are few and far between, most evident in the opening and closing songs and the unusual ‘Stingher / Alone,’ which has some of the most mournful, melancholy lyrics but bizarrely ends up being one of the more frantic and upbeat of the disc.
Advantages: Nice background music, if you're partial to a bit of the old melodic symphonic extreme metal.
Disadvantages: Songs don't stand strong on their own, and the general musicianship is rather bland and dull.
Complications: Trilogy of Intricacy
Hell's First Shopping Mall is Open for Business
***
Written on 10.11.07
At first glance – if you’re a black metal fan, that is – this eccentric band appears to be some form of supergroup, comprising members from notable bands such as Carpathian Forest, Borknagar and even a survivor of early Mayhem. Closer examination reveals that Age of Silence, for all its oddness, is primarily a side project of Norway’s lighter prog metal band Winds, and seemingly a means for its members to let off steam recording experimental music without fear of destroying their already rather tenuous careers.
The needlessly over-titled ‘Complications: Trilogy of Intricacy’ narrates the story of a supermarket being opened in Hell, with Lars Nedland’s pun-filled lyrics intended as a satire of the shopping experience in general. It’s an interesting and rather funny idea, and as a limited concept perfectly suits a shorter release such as this, rather than a more substantial album where it would doubtless become irritating and repetitive towards the end. Oddly, and rather disappointingly, the general feel is that this is Nedland’s own pet project, performed with assistance from his backing band Winds, as his multi-layered vocal duets with himself, and variety of restlessly shifting experimental vocal melodies in the style of seventies progressive rock, really do overpower the supporting riffs of Kobbergard and Extant, and the surprisingly tame drums of Hellhammer. The production job is fairly sleek and keeps the sound much more in the vein of progressive metal and rock than the dingy depths of black metal, meaning that even the rare occasions that the guitars scratch away at a dirtier riff, or Hellhammer unleashes the ticking double bass pedals, there’s a distinct lack of heaviness or aggression as the whole thing stays rooted in the whimsical fable.
Each member of the gathered musical throng is experienced at the sort of experimental attitude a release such as this requires, so it’s disappointing to hear most of them fall compliantly in line to provide backing riffs and, in the case of Andy Winter’s keyboards, mere atmosphere. Winter’s contributions increase slightly with each song, culminating in a reasonable yet still stifled solo spot of sorts paired up with the guitars in the finale, but I still felt a little let down after hearing his impressive work in Paul Kuhr’s Subterranean Masquerade, a similar but far more entertaining and inventive prog metal side project that even manages to live up musically to its brilliant name. Despite each song here boasting a central instrumental section, these mostly see the established riffs continue for several bars before Nedland comes back in with ever more ludicrous manners of singing.
1. The Idea of Independence and the Reason Why it’s Austere
2. Mr. M, Man of Muzak
3. Vouchers, Coupons and the End of a Shopping Session
Lars Nedland’s infernal story moves from a generalised scene-setting introduction in the first song to an account of the shopping experience in the second, and finally its aftermath in the third; so not so much a trilogy as a story that happens to be divided into three uneven tracks. The lyrics are entertaining for the most part, even if the forced satire and obvious puns come off as a little silly and even a little patronising in their repetition, just in case the reader/listener didn’t “get” first time around that the focus on barbecue special offers was because, like, this is Hell, where there’s fire and stuff aplenty. Although he forsakes the more customary black metal screech for entirely clean singing, Nedland’s lyrics are still occasionally indecipherable due to the odd styles in which he chooses to sing them, reminding me of similar tomfoolery from the vocalists of Gentle Giant and Van der Graaf Generator to name a couple. There’s some nice layering afoot, meaning the singer gets to replace what would traditionally be a lead guitar behind some of the verses with a simple copy of himself singing “ahh” a few times, and although there’s a distinct feeling that most of his deviancy is eccentric purely for the sake of it, it adds a nice sense of character to this E.P.
There’s a general tendency of improvement as the songs go on, all of the instruments being permitted slightly more freedom of expression in each consecutive piece, but never really succeeding in evoking the hellish atmosphere that the listener would perhaps expect. As mentioned earlier, Andy Winter is unleashed to some extent in the final song, though the decisions he makes are a little questionable to say the least: he opts to replicate a sound I can only describe as that of a 1950s B-movie UFO in the outro, and as for his chirpy leads in tandem with the guitars earlier on, he seems to unintentionally evoke the very “muzak” being condemned by the lyrics (if this is intentional, then it’s all the better for it, but it still sounds fairly rubbish). The oddest thing about this highly avant-garde and experimental release is how stilted, repetitive and dull it sounds on the whole, boasting little musical complexity or innovation and relying solely on a bloke singing out of time into a microphone about some people going shopping and burning to death, delivered in a variety of high-pitched voices.
This band released a full-length album prior to this that I would expect (and certainly hope) to be of more worth, and of course their more prominent work in Winds is quite enjoyable, if a bit bland. If you came here looking for some avant-garde black metal – and hell, who doesn’t need some of that in their lives? – there are other acts I would recommend instead, none of which allow a well thought-out, but ultimately rather daft plot to overtake the music in this way.
Advantages: An interesting concept performed by veterans of the business.
Disadvantages: No one gets to strut their stuff apart from the vocalist, who harks back to the seventies.
Living in Darkness
Crying For Help in a World Gone Mad
****
Written on 11.11.07
The debut album from California’s Agent Orange influenced a whole generation (and some more) of local punk rockers, who adapted the angry disillusion of their seventies forebears into something more appropriate for Generation X. Widening its own influences to absorb contemporary heavy metal and surf music into its punk base, ‘Living in Darkness’ is a short, sharp recording that proved to be the band’s best, or at least most recognised.
Reviews of this album tend to associate it with skateboarding, the same way some Pink Floyd fans insist the music be used as a soundtrack to smoking the ol’ crazy gravy granules, but having never been a sk8ur (or however it’s spelled), controversially opting for the more sensible transport of feet and/or bicycle in my teen years, I can confirm that the album still has the ability to entertain even if you’re not popping a kickflip while you’re listening to it, or whatever. I’m so in touch. Fortunately, the songs aren’t actually about skating or anything so trivial, but follow the predictable punk standards of a general depression and dissatisfaction with society, combined with a more specific and personal account of loneliness and the problems faced in entering adulthood. It’s all good and appropriate stuff, and only really overflows into anger on a couple of the more impressive and louder offerings.
The album was expanded when re-released on CD in 1992 to include earlier demos of some songs, more instrumental covers and an interview, but the original arrangement of eight tracks clocks in just short of twenty minutes.
1. Too Young to Die
2. Everything Turns Grey
3. Miserlou
4. The Last Goodbye
5. No Such Thing
6. A Cry for Help in a World Gone Mad
7. Bloodstains
8. Living in Darkness
As a fairly low budget recording from 1981, this album is a testament to the punk ethic, with most of the instruments sounding a little wrong in the mix, particularly the too-prominent vocals and scratching guitar. This lack of a polished finish, which would otherwise spoil the more commercially-oriented albums of the bands they inspired in the 90s when punk became fashionable again, albeit in the way The Offspring and Green Day opted to play it, suits the album very well, and dates in a very satisfying way. Without trying to be overly aggressive or confrontational, the music is permitted to be catchy and to move through a variety of different moods, aided by the obvious influences. More straightforward, catchy, Ramones-style punk is replicated in ‘Too Young to Die,’ ‘No Such Thing’ and ‘A Cry for Help in a World Gone Mad,’ all featuring nice choruses with effective unison yells from all, speedy and slightly sinister guitar riffs, Scott Miller’s happily bashing drums and a nice pulsing bass from James Levesque. ‘No Such Thing’ is the best of these, with more creative dominant melodies and some great lead guitar work from Mike Palm, found even more prominently in some of the other tracks where he is content to rip off Judas Priest.
It’s not really theft so much as unavoidable influence, but a few of the songs bear a noticeable similarity to the guitar sound popularised by Priest’s albums of the late seventies. The excellent ‘Everything Turns Grey’ opens very much like the other band’s classic ‘Victim of Changes’ before evolving into a riff that wouldn’t sound out of place on the ‘Stained Class’ album, but the success of the rest of the song is really down to the band’s own talents. As a fan of this type of metal I really enjoy its imprint on this album, though the later ‘The Last Goodbye’ is essentially an inferior version of the same thing, made acceptable by another catchy main riff and a return of pleasant backing vocals in the chorus. ‘Living in Darkness’ is the only other song to drag on by the end, as most are too energetic and too short to do so, and is the most diverse of the album, conveying depression about as well as can be expected from a punk song. Levesque’s bass has a chance to shine in the introduction, quite fitting as he is the talented band member who wrote the song (along with ‘Everything Turns Grey’), but the hand-clap-style percussion half-way through is something I could live without.
The other prominent tracks are also the most jarring, but in a good way. ‘Miserlou’ is a pretty standard cover of the surf instrumental by Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, which is effective in replacing vocals with a twiddly guitar solo in this bass-led effort, and I can’t help visualising a sixties car speeding illegally over a freeway for its short duration. The most famous song is the legendary (in Southern Californian punk circles at least) ‘Bloodstains,’ possessing a powerful and quite evil riff, some really raw shouted vocals and another surf-inspired solo. It’s a great, stand-out bit of aggression in an otherwise more reflective album, and while it has little to impress technically, its attitude and power were integral in forming the sound of 80s punk, whether you consider that to be a good or bad thing. The Offspring later covered it for some soundtrack or other, and added a bit of gratuitous swearing.
‘Living in Darkness’ doesn’t sound like a classic album unless you place it in its proper historical context. Many bands that followed would produce more entertaining, creative and longer albums (the latter being a fairly easy feat), but the myriad influences make this one of my favourites, particularly the debts it owes to Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing of Judas Priest. ‘Bloodstains’ would likely be the song chosen if the Library of Congress compiled a history of punk deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant,” but it’s not necessarily the album’s peak.
Advantages: Definitive Southern Californian punk rock with some great metal influence.
Disadvantages: Far too short, and some songs lack originality.
Alienigma
Trust No One
***
Written on 12.11.07
This year’s album from old-timers Agent Steel sees the L.A. band finally shake off its archaic thrash and speed metal origins and get with it, granddad; ‘it’ being the generic, monotonous style of down-tuned post-thrash that all American bands have been getting away with since Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax decided to slow down at the start of the Nineties. This is a particularly disappointing move for Agent Steel in light of the two previous albums released sporadically since their reform, which brilliantly re-captured and even improved upon the classic speed metal sound they helped pioneer in the mid-Eighties, and despite a large audience still existing for classic metal, admittedly far away in Europe, the band obviously decided it would be a good idea to try to keep up with current trends. Thus, they set about recording what is essentially a tribute album of Nevermore songs circa 1997.
‘Alienigma’ isn’t a bad album, in fact it’s quite competent as a modern-sounding release, but it’s left many fans feeling disappointed that the classic style has been replaced by one equally as clichéd and repetitive as the one they obviously wished to leave behind, despite having more of a knack for it. The style never moves beyond sounding like a Nevermore clone, with liberal borrowings from this decade’s most prominent metal acts popular with macho morons, namely Machine Head and melodic death metal bands teetering dangerously on the edge of metalcore, specifically Arch Enemy. The sound is grounded in down-tuned riffs that lack much in the way of creativity or originality, while Bruce Hall’s vocals are almost entirely restricted to a half-hearted shout reminiscent of Machine Head’s Robb Flynn that occasionally reaches an octave or so higher to sound like a dead ringer for Nevermore’s Warrel Dane, clearly revealing the albums he’s been listening to since ‘Order of the Illuminati.’ Long-time guitarists Juan Garcia and Bernie Versailles are at their most disappointing and disillusioned in the riffs, all of which chug along entirely unremarkably, but fortunately their fantastic solos manage to make most songs worth listening to, always sounding fresh and original in a manner that’s both enjoyable and frustrating, as it rubs in just how much better this album could have been if the foundation was as good as the polish.
I have to credit the band for pulling off this uncharacteristically brutal and aggressive sound very well and completely convincingly, and any newcomers would most certainly be surprised to learn that these guys were around back when their dads were into metal, but it doesn’t make this any more impressive as just another entry in a dull genre that by all rights should have expired at the end of the last decade, but bizarrely continues to find favour with American metalheads. You might think I’m something of a hypocrite and madman for preferring that the band instead follow and even older and more outdated style in its place, and you’re probably right, but that would be to celebrate and continue expanding on a sound that still packs as much of a punch as it did back when most people weren’t ready for it. Continuing to abandon their roots, there’s also a minimal focus on the band’s old gimmick of alien abduction themes in the lyrics, being largely replaced with tirades against religion and the government that only cement the Nevermore comparison ever further.
1. Fashioned from Dust
2. Wash the Planet Clean
3. Hail to the Chief
4. Wormwood
5. Liberty Lies Bleeding
6. Hybridized
7. Tiamat’s Fall
8. WPD (World Pandemic Destruction)
9. Lamb to the Slaughter
10. Extinct
To cut to the chase, pretty much all of these songs sound exactly the same, and it’s only through a more focused and dedicated listen that certain favourites and rare moments of creativity shine through the mid-tempo ‘heaviness’; heaviness obviously being characterised by the extent to which you down-tune your guitar rather than the needlessly time-consuming task of having to come up with technically powerful riffs. Some songs are a little faster (‘Extinct’), some a little more traditional (‘Wormwood’), and some nothing more than an uninspired meeting of Machine Head aggro and Arch Enemy riffs (‘Wash the Planet Clean,’ ‘Liberty Lies Bleeding’), or at worst, Pantera with Pantera (‘Lamb to the Slaughter’). Opening track ‘Fashioned from Dust’ sets up the general sound acceptably without going overboard in offering anything special outside of the first of many great solos, maintaining a slow, hammering alliance of guitar and clicking bass drums that will continue without much interruption for the next fifty-three minutes.
The longer songs tend to be the ones that most noticeably outstay their welcome, with the six-minute ‘Hail to the Chief’ and ‘Hybridized’ not maintaining enough interest to justify their length despite an excess of breakdowns in the former and some ineffective spoken word in the latter that struggles to bring back the sci-fi theme, but fortunately the similarly lengthy ‘Wormwood’ burrows its way through these stale corpses and succeeds in being the stand-out track of the album, at least for fans who prefer the band’s older style as I do. The main riffs are still pieced together from Arch Enemy’s studio floor, but there’s a return for that old favourite the neoclassical solo, succeeding even the excellent virtuoso spots of tracks two and three, and Bruce Hall puts in his best effort to emulate the operatic singing of Eighties metal, though he’s still evidently restricted to the middle range, either by preference or vocal limitations; either way, it’s a refreshing break to hear him sound like Bruce Dickinson rather than Warrel Dane. It’s not a patch on the band’s better work, but at least proves that there’s still hope for future releases.
The harder songs that will appeal most to Machine Head / groove metal fans tend to come in the second half of the album, with most running out of steam and ideas long before they’re due to fade out. The finale ‘Extinct’ is the main exception, mostly due simply to its more appropriate length of under four minutes, but there’s also a greater amount of energy in this final performance from all the musicians, and the eager, early solo sounds properly integrated rather than hastily slapped on top of the repeating riffs as the song draws to a close. ‘Tiamat’s Fall,’ ‘WPD’ and ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ form the weakest section of the album, the first two for sounding pointlessly like Nevermore B-sides and the last just being a really unnecessary bit of Pantera worship, while ‘Wash the Planet Clean’ and ‘Liberty Lies Bleeding’ at least try to incorporate melodic death metal elements into the band’s sound so that anyone listening to this in a couple of centuries’ time will be able to place it in its correct decade, but it’s a real shame the band hadn’t exposed themselves to the more authentic and exciting bands playing this style in Scandinavia rather than the home-grown knock-offs that this ultimately resembles more.
‘Alienigma’ is, on the whole, an entirely pointless album, the only purpose of which could be to satisfy die-hard Nevermore fans with a sound-alike of that band’s better period prior to ‘Enemies of Reality.’ The substitution of Machine Head growls and Arch Enemy riffs for the band’s traditional speed metal sound was an unwise decision that was clearly going to alienate fans, and it’s a real shame that they didn’t choose a more worthwhile direction than generic post-thrash, or whatever you want to call it. I wouldn’t be so critical if their previous two albums hadn’t been of such high quality – get those instead.
Advantages: Some more repetitive groove metal tracks if you really needed them.
Disadvantages: Old men have lost their way and try to get back in touch; the result is merely competent.
Agents of Oblivion
Bleeding White Butterflies
****
Written on 15.11.07
Following Audie Pitre’s tragic death in 1997, the other members of Acid Bath respectfully agreed to call it a day, until the ceaselessly creative Dax Riggs formed Agents of Oblivion along with Mike Sanchez and a trio of newcomers. Expanding on the more psychedelic leanings of the defunct sludge band, as well as a brief in-between project allegedly titled Daisyhead & the Moon Crickets, Agents of Oblivion’s sole full-length release largely abandons Acid Bath’s angry groove metal style in a continuing process of Riggs’ softening up, culminating in his more recent project Deadboy & the Elephantmen. Thankfully, for doom fans like me who found the more hostile sections of Acid Bath a little primitive and unpalatable, this album is content to vary between catchy, mid-speed stoner rock in the style of Monster Magnet and numerous other bands who continue to reap the benefits of being a Black Sabbath sound-alike thirty years down the line, and more reflective and emotive psychedelia. There’s no shouting at all.
While its roots are firmly in the 1970s, this album’s clear, modern production keeps it sounding fresh, and the layering of sounds to a crescendo of volume is reminiscent of apocalyptic post-rock from the likes of Mogwai and their successors, while the basic variation between predominantly acoustic or electric songs maintains a nice degree of variety. In general, the softer, more thoughtful songs tend to be the most accomplished, benefitting from Riggs’ great vocals in a manner that was only hinted at in the more basic acoustic songs that occasionally crept into Acid Bath’s recordings, and although the more upbeat, sludgy songs are a lot of fun, the style gets rather repetitive by the end. It’s most likely for this reason that the album alternates between the two broad styles with each consecutive song, at least for the most part, but fortunately with commonalities through the backing synthesiser and predominantly slow pace to keep the odd/even shifts from being too obvious or jarring, as was the case with Iced Earth’s questionable thrash/ballad rotation on their album ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes.’
Riggs’ vocals are surprisingly the highlight of the album, and are far more suited to this slower and less aggressive style of rock than the slightly annoying shouting that characterised his earlier career. Moving between a deep, soft singing style almost like a croon, he successfully matches each section’s intensity and emotion in a really strong performance. The guitars of Riggs and Sanchez alternate between down-tuned groovy doom riffs and more atmospheric acoustic, with occasional lazy solos when the album calls for it. Alex Bergeron’s bass is distinctly audible due to the polished production, occasionally filling in when the guitars are absent, and Jeff McCarty puts in a memorable and interesting performance on drums, hitting sparingly but powerfully. Chuck Pitre fills in as the keyboard player to enhance and expand on the spacey atmosphere in most songs or provide lead piano, without any distracting keyboard solos. As these songs come from the same slightly twisted mind that brought us the often-depraved Acid Bath, the lyrics are still rooted in a distinct creepiness, but are used less for shock value here; thus, Riggs’ disturbed eroticism of ‘Ash of the Mind’ and disturbed romance of ‘Slave Riot’ (“Long ago I kissed her skull / sunbleached and beautiful / slick-wet with diesel fuel”) are more effective in their preoccupation with decay.
1. Endsmouth
2. Slave Riot
3. A Song That Crawls
4. Dead Girl [Acid Bath cover]
5. Phantom Green
6. The Hangman’s Daughter
7. Ladybug
8. Ash of the Mind
9. Wither
10. Paroled in ’54
11. Anthem (For This Haunted City)
12. Cosmic Dancer [T-Rex cover]
13. Big Black Backwards
As the album alternates between stoner rock and psychedelic acoustic emotive... whatever, it makes sense to compare the relevant songs within each style. The stoner rock style is arguably the more straightforward, mainly derivative of other contemporary and classic bands, and these songs are required to do something pretty special in order to stand out. ‘Slave Riot’ is a good start with its aforementioned twisted love lyrics, and the fast, blues-based riffing style carries through to ‘Ladybug,’ which is firmly rooted in the seventies but makes for a nice meeting of blues and some limited country influence, complete with a nice solo, and holds some great, subtle transitions as the song gets louder and angrier in the second half, before disorienting listeners completely with Riggs’ displaced double-tracked vocals. Duuude. ‘Ash of the Mind’ and ‘Paroled in ’54’ more or less continue the same style to less effect, though the latter is notable for slumping into a seriously stoned slow section that almost sees the album grind to a halt before the musicians get themselves together again. ‘Anthem (For This Haunted City)’ concludes this strand of the album nicely, granting everyone a chance to shine (even the bass), leading out with prominent solos backed by the haunting keyboards. The only other song that slots into this rough half of the album is the cover of Acid Bath’s own ‘Dead Girl,’ which I’m not quite so fond of due to my indifference to that earlier band and the shouting it entails, and though its Sabbath-style riffs incorporate seamlessly into this release, it has the unfortunate distinction of being pretty much the only song to really drag a on for a couple of minutes after my patience has expired.
That leaves a slightly more substantial and far more rewarding half of the album dominated by a depressive acoustic direction, much improved over Acid Bath’s earlier attempts at the style that came somewhere between this, and the terrible amateur ballad attempts of Pantera. Opener ‘Endmouth,’ central ‘Phantom Green’ and closing ‘Big Black Backwards’ all move from relative tranquillity to a loud, oppressive post-rock style at no cost to maintaining the sombre atmosphere, still based predominantly around Riggs’ compelling singing but backing it up effectively with the guitars, hard drums and spacey keyboards, the latter being permitted to deteriorate into utter weirdness at the end as some local kids swear at each other over a quiet synthesised trumpet. Presumably, whatever the listener was smoking will have taken its full effect by now. The rest are content to remain peaceful and reflective rather than apocalyptic, from the slow country-blues of the appropriately named ‘A Song That Crawls’ to the album’s finest moment in the almost suicidal ‘The Hangman’s Daughter,’ where Dax really sounds like he’s on his last tether. ‘Wither’ continues in a similar style with help from the keyboards, and the cover of T-Rex’s ‘Cosmic Dancer,’ a song I’m not otherwise familiar with, is different enough to stick out with its repetitive, sequential lyrics and even softer singing style, but kept from standing out too much. It’s quite good.
As would be expected from its place in the chronology, Agents of Oblivion is an almost perfect link between the enraged sludge of Acid Bath and the hippie “swamp rock” of Deadboy & the Elephantmen, combining stoner riffs with a prominent acoustic direction to make a great modern psychedelic album, one that might not be experimental enough for prog rockers or hard enough for metal fans, but meets my tastes nicely in the middle.
Advantages: Dax Riggs perfects his psychedelic style, free from the constraints of Acid Bath.
Disadvantages: A little uneven, with the more upbeat stoner rock seeming more like filler amidst the gloom
Aghora
Son of Cynic
****
Written on 17.11.07
You can always rely on the excesses of progressive metal bands to add some much-needed complexity to an otherwise humdrum evening, and Florida’s Aghora are among the more interesting. Formed from the ashes of Cynic, one of the few legendary jazz fusion death metal bands of the early nineties who only ever released one album, Aghora is overall a less eccentric and violent affair, absorbing the lighter instrumental touch of Gordian Knot alumni and the contemplative Hinduism of its lyrical subject matter.
Unlike the majority of so-called progressive bands, who essentially aim to reproduce the style that their peers were playing approximately two years earlier (or in the case of Shadow Gallery, two decades), the musicians collected here all belong to the higher calibre of avant-garde musical experimentation that concerns itself with producing a decent, memorable and new sound, as opposed to just trying to sound like Dream Theater, or contenting themselves with a wall of sound to show how fast they can perform. The predominant writer-director of this piece is Santiago Dobles, who commendably limits his excellent guitars to the times when they’re really needed, unleashing a distinctly Cynic-sounding crunching riff in the instrumental sections and experimenting with several types of guitar solo, from the laid-back style of blues to a more traditional heavy metal sound and even, on occasion, the look-at-that-boy-go approach. Of equal merit is bassist Sean Malone (of both Cynic and Gordian Knot), who handles most of the lead rhythms that would traditionally be played by a guitar drowning the bass player out; this certainly isn’t the case here, and the primary lasting effect of this album is that it’s going to be hard to go back to the majority of effectively bass-less bands hereafter. Malone isn’t restricted to filling in the riffs or jamming along to his own piano however, as he also gets some nice, understated solos, in particular a nice interlude between Dobles’ contributions in ‘Frames.’
A slightly controversial casting decision is Dobles’ sister Danishta Rivero as the lead vocalist, though she’s completely competent and pleasant sounding, only really becoming questionable in some of the more energetic sections when her delivery sounds a little too jarring. Perhaps most notable, and certainly most popular of all is the drumming of Sean Reinert (of Cynic, Gordian Knot and Death’s classic album ‘Human,’ among other credits), who manages to be incredibly prominent and compelling without ever intruding on the rest of the instruments, or showing off for the sake of it, and he receives his due reward of a little time in the solo spotlight at the end of ‘Existence.’ To their immense credit, these musicians keep the entire album grounded in memorable and catchy rhythms, even when jumping between time signatures or unleashing a blast of frenetic guitars to disturb the peace, and this higher degree of accessibility makes it a less trying and less pompous affair than would probably be expected. At the same time, this could serve to disappoint fans of the aforementioned bands as well as other such as Spiral Architect or death-fusion pioneers Atheist, but there’s enough virtuosity between the more reflective and traditional passages to satiate the majority. And come on, we’re dealing with jazz fusion influenced progressive metal here; it’s not exactly going to be everyone’s cup of tea.
1. Immortal Bliss
2. Satya
3. Transfiguration
4. Frames
5. Mind’s Reality
6. Kali Yuga
7. Jivatma
8. Existence
9. Anugraha
Despite its experimental leanings, most songs follow the similar (broad) format of a melodic introduction, usually carried out by bass and piano before the drums kick in, a generally peaceful, lofty tone in the verses, and a slightly more energetic, guitar-led chorus before the band goes off on one with some solos in the second half. There’s never a sense of conceding to tradition though, with Rivero’s vocals usually coming in a lot earlier than is typical, usually right from the onset, and Dobles’ very loose and spontaneous attitude towards his guitar, which sometimes blasts out a brief riff between verses and other times decides to stay for the long haul.
There are attempts at an Eastern tinge right from the first song, usually in the form of a slightly clichéd-sounding lead melody (also heard in ‘Mind’s Reality’), but this influence becomes more dominant as the album continues (again, loosely speaking), from the contemplative mood of the otherwise fairly dull ‘Transfiguration’ and lengthy instrumental ‘Jivatma’ to the final song, which largely abandons its metal roots and assigns the performers the task of creating an authentic Eastern sound, something they pull of expertly, as expected. These three songs in particular work well to break up what would otherwise be a fairly repetitive album, but would perhaps lack the strength to stand effectively alone as well: despite the praise levelled towards ‘Jivatma’ as a piece of instrumental grandeur, I was actually a little disappointed that it remained so restrained, though avoiding plunging into more obtuse realms that bring the progressive genre so much criticism was probably a wise move, and certainly one that helps the rest of the album.
‘Immortal Bliss’ is a nice introduction, beginning as a fairly standard metal song before subtly tripping the listener up with increasing time signature shifts, but compared to the songs that follow in much the same manner, it’s probably most memorable for Rivero’s vocal performance, which reaches some reeeeeally high notes in a questionable attempt to match the skill of the surrounding musicians. Her style doesn’t suit the next song or ‘Mind’s Reality’ quite so well, as she’s pitted against her brother’s thrashing guitar in both, but it all works beautifully in the bass- and piano-driven verses. The songs are all trimmed to pretty much the perfect length, with some such as the more reflective and complex ‘Frames’ being given a longer cooling-off period and the majority ceasing abruptly before they lapse into repetition. The only song that really suffers for this is ‘Mind’s Reality,’ which is a little too short and lacking in content to be of much value compared to the others, and along with the more ambient songs mentioned earlier, is probably the least essential offering on here.
Oddly, it’s the even-numbered tracks that I found the most rewarding (the same works for Star Trek films), as ‘Satya,’ ‘Frames,’ ‘Kali Yuga’ and ‘Existence’ all nail the sound and style to perfection. The latter two in particular manage to be more diverse than their predecessors, combining heavy and melodic sections with greater skill and frequency, and opportunities for the performers to play whatever the hell they want, regardless of how easy it will be approach. They needn’t worry, as ‘Aghora’ is a wholly successful prog metal offering from some of the genre’s most recognised performers, living up to the true definition of ‘progressive metal’ while also making music to be enjoyed by a wider audience than just pipe smokers who nod along occasionally, scratching their bearded, middle-aged faces.
Advantages: Excellent and approachable jazzy prog metal from legendary performers.
Disadvantages: Female vocals sometimes seem out of place, and the style becomes a little repetitive.
Warriors
I Wanna Destroy the Passerby
**
Written on 20.11.07
The new album from New York hardcore punks Agnostic Front continues to mix angry punk rock with shouty hardcore, and as but one of a seemingly endless number of similar-sounding albums having been released every year for the last couple of decades, it brings nothing new to the scene apart from some new material of Agnostic Front sounding like themselves. The whole album is based on fast, riff-heavy songs with multiple, moshable ‘breakdowns’ as a substitution for musical diversity, backed by relentless double bass drums in a clicking frenzy that again permits the drummer to avoid having to put any thought into what he’s doing. But of course, this is still punk first and foremost; a genre that has no delusions of Rimsky-Korsakov.
All the same, I found ‘Warriors’ to be a largely disappointing, or at best entirely bland experience, lacking the intensity that I can just about stomach from their contemporaries such as Sick of it All, and still apparently trying to earn fans from the metal world by incorporating a more ‘metalcore’ sound into their hardcore, extending to adding a few fairly decent guitar solos and making the guitars sound a little fiercer than the punk standard. This didn’t do anything for me, naturally as someone who loathes all these modern corruptions of metal, though I did quite enjoy the traditional heavy metal style chorus of the title song, so I guess I’m as easily won over as anyone else (but by far stupider things). I’m far more interested in the band sticking to their punk roots, and this generally makes for the better songs, particularly ‘Black and Blue’ and ‘For My Family,’ the latter being about as close to a love song as punk should ever be allowed to get, as a brotherly tribute to the band’s closest friends and community spirit. But still shouted and bitter, obviously.
Roger Miret’s hardcore yell is enough to put me off ever listening to this band again, threatening to mellow out as late as the eleventh song, but still not quite getting there. I’ve never been a fan of this confrontational vocal style (makes you wonder why I listen to this genre at all really), and although the rest of the instruments are a little better than the average for punk, it’s all but expected for such a relatively high profile band. There’s plenty of swearing and aggro, balanced out by occasional positive feelings to prove that the band is still human, though to be honest the self-explanatory ‘Forgive Me Mother’ is a little cringe-worthy in its sentiment, and it’s hard to take Miret completely seriously as he adopts this kindly woman’s persona and yells what he imagines she might be thinking. Although I seem to be opposed to the lead vocalist’s needless yells, I conversely really enjoy the unison yelling of the band in the punk choruses. And as for the ridiculous macho aggression cover, it at least gives a fair indication of what to expect from the album – and, presumably, any accompanying live shows.
It’s my own fault for listening to all music with preconceptions that it should be a little varied or original in order to entertain me, but ‘Warriors’ feels completely like a simple clone of every other hardcore punk album in existence. There are a couple of nice touches that keep it from being pointless, namely the slower and more thoughtful songs such as ‘We Want the Truth’ and ‘Come Alive,’ and the slightly free-form ‘By My Side’ until it lets rip with another round of breakdowns, but there’s no way this could make it to the essential purchases list of anyone but a dedicated Agnostic Front fan who refused to open their mind and listen to the much better versions of the same thing being produced elsewhere. The songs are all insubstantial, being too short to be of much worth but thankfully not so long that they become annoying in of themselves, and on the whole it’s quite a confusing release from Nuclear Blast, who routinely specialise in Scandinavian extreme metal.
If you’re an old-time punk who’s interested in seeing how your favourite genre has been corrupted by today’s angry acts, this is as good a place as any. Unless of course you want to be really sickened, in which case I point you in the happy-crappy direction of Blink-182 and their ilk.
1. Addiction
2. Dead to Me
3. Outraged
4. Warriors
5. Black and Blue
6. Change Your Ways
7. For My Family
8. No Regrets
9. Revenge
10. We Want the Truth
11. By My Side
12. Come Alive
13. All These Years
14. Forgive Me Mother
15. Break the Chains
Advantages: Punk roots still hold their own against the oppressive hardcore and metal elements.
Disadvantages: Lacks any kind of originality or self-worth.
Days of Rising Doom: The Metal Opera
I Have No Use For You, Now Die
***
Written on 22.11.07
I was pretty excited when I finally got my hands on 'Days of Rising Doom,' the sole release (so far) from a veritable supergroup of power metal that I remembered being unanimously applauded on this site a few years ago, but at the same time I was almost certain that it was going to be a disappointment for one reason or another; namely, if this self-proclaimed 'Metal Opera' didn't live up to either style. Unfortunately, it doesn't.
One of the many prominent figures in international power metal to grace this recording, Tobias Sammet had already released a similarly ambitious project with two albums under the name Avantasia, which also bore the collective title 'The Metal Opera.' Perhaps it was this idea of pushing the concept album idea further than before, utilising multiple vocalists in the guise of characters, that persuaded producer Sascha Paeth and the key musicians involved in the Aina concept to try something similar, while also aiming to beat what may have been viewed as Sammet's unsuccessful attempt at establishing a new genre. Although the Avantasia albums are completely excellent (much better than this, but I'll get to that in a minute), they are admittedly entrenched firmly within the power metal style of Sammet's day-job band Edguy with only a few notable touches attempting to branch out into something resembling opera. The big mistake made by the Aina creators was their misguided belief that employing a vast array of orchestration and drafting in some choirboys could enhance a collection of dull, basic and unimaginative metal anthems and rock ballads into something resembling a masterpiece.
Aina, or rather 'Days of Rising Doom' (though the titles are interchangeable, as this is the group's only release), is a perfect example of a flimsy, unremarkable idea resting entirely on the strength of a supremely talented but utterly misused all-star cast; I'm sure there are several films you can think of, where that the same thing applies. To their credit, the numerous vocalists representing the characters and providing intermittent narration are all pretty excellent, from the aforementioned Sammet who never fails to cheer me up when I hear his voice, making 'Flight of Torek' my most enjoyed song here for that reason alone, to Helloween's Michael Kiske and the excellent Damian Wilson, formerly of UK prog metal band Threshold as well as Valjean in Les Miserables and a load of other stuff. Surprisingly disappointing are the guest musicians, almost universally providing either a guitar or keyboard solo in selected songs, and it's this brevity that presents the real problem; superior projects of a similar style will usually offer an entire song to a guest performer and allow them to adapt it to suit their style (I'm thinking particularly of Arjen Lucassen's incredible Ayreon releases, the original and best metal operas), but here the performances from Stratovarius' Jens Johansson, Dream Theater's Derek Sherinian, Kamelot's Thomas Youngblood, Nightwish's Empuu Vuorinen and Erik Norlander (Lana Lane collaborator and husband) pass by all but unnoticed, serving mainly to attract progressive/power metal fans reading paragraphs like this and thinking, "ooh, that bloke."
The guests mean very little as the foundation itself is so insubstantial, and clearly - very disappointingly and quite laughably - aimed at achieving commercial success as much as peer recognition within the metal world. All the songs are kept to radio-friendly lengths and, as the second disc proves, are essentially the trimmed 'radio edits' formed from longer, though not necessarily more substantial material. Although presented as a double album release, the metal opera is confined entirely to the first (thankfully), with the second providing alternate versions and additional extras for those who liked what they heard on the main feature. Sascha Paeth has produced many acclaimed albums that all but defined the symphonic metal style worldwide from the late nineties to the present, from the early albums of Rhapsody to the later albums of Kamelot, but his technical credentials only stretch as far as granting a great clean and distinct sound to the instruments; the real creative work was a combined effort between Robert Hunecke-Rizzo, Michael Rodenberg and lyricist Amanda Somerville, who created the storyline and even developed Aina's own language that appears in a couple of songs for added authenticity and geekiness. The story itself is almost embarrassing clichéd and obvious, dealing with a battle for leadership over the kingdom of Aina, combined with a rubbish love story that's only there so Somerville gets to sing a bit alongside all the men. Power metal has never been particularly renowned for its lyrics and subject matter, and indeed there are plenty of worse and even more cringe-inducing album plots out there (as well as some really cool and imaginative ones as well, Ayreon again being prime example), but this hardly seems worth writing an opera about. Avantasia's plot was much better, and Rhapsody's five-album-strong 'Emerald Sword Saga' far more involved (some, such as myself, would argue: perhaps a little too involved).
Disc 1: 'Days of Rising Doom'
1. Aina Overture
2. Revelations
3. Silver Maiden
4. Flight of Torek
5. Naschtok is Born
6. The Beast Within
7. The Siege of Aina
8. Talon's Last Hope
9. Rape of Oria
10. Son of Sorvahr
11. Serendipity
12. Lalae Amer
13. Rebellion
14. Oriana's Wrath
15. Restoration
'Days of Rising Doom' substantially fails to satisfy as an elaborate metal production, beginning so far up its own rectum that it would have to be really impressive to escape, something it never manages to achieve (though this at least prevents it from being described as truly faecal). If the performers were a little less bombast, you'd even be fooled into thinking there was no running plot whatsoever; there certainly isn't anything in the way of repeating musical motifs to tie it all together, apart from a brief resurgence of an earlier choir towards the end, and the final track just sort of plods its way into a fade-out rather than showing off in the expected grand finale. Most tracks follow a tired power metal archetype of mindless double pass drum pedals behind a fast, pointless guitar, and the nice vocals and occasionally enjoyable lead guitar are played over the top. Bizarrely, these songs are presumably so involved in establishing the plot and finding time to squeeze all the orchestration into the background that no real attempt is made to make them memorable or catchy, with only a couple of exceptions in the way of 'Naschtok is Born' and 'Son of Sovahr.' At the other extreme, the truly operatic moments are sparse, first appearing half-way through in 'The Beast Within' and after that only in the sibling rivalry of later tracks.
Most of this album is technically metal, though not in an inspired, creative or even really enjoyable way, relying on a generic power metal sound that falls drastically short of the greats, whose members have been pilfered temporarily for this comparative failure. This means that 'Revelations,' 'Flight of Torek' and about half of the songs thereafter follow a traditional verse/chorus/solo structure and end before anything exciting has been permitted to happen. Worse are the rock ballads, that creep up with unnerving consistency and are matched by truly awful lyrics, the low point probably being the fluffy 'Silver Maiden' that has been accurately slated elsewhere for sounding like something from a Disney film. It's horrible, and has no place on an album proclaiming itself to be 'metal' (though even bands as definitively metal as Manowar have been guilty of similar atrocities in the past). The drums and bass don't even bear mentioning, apart from a brief summary: boring. As mentioned earlier, the orchestration is all intelligent and nice, but can't help to make these basic songs any more interesting just by adding atmosphere in the background - as was the case when bands such as Metallica and Kiss combined their own primitive back catalogues with a live symphony. The ambition is undoubtedly here, but it all falls apart under a lack of direction, or more accurately a well-meaning but incredibly unimaginative one. For a much better version of what is basically the same idea, check out Ayreon, Avantasia or any pretentious prog rock album that divides its tracks into Acts.
Even in the most generic release, there will often be something that stands out to catch the listener's attention, whether good or bad. It was sadly the latter for me, as the choice to draft in the Trinity School Boys' Choir on a couple of tracks provided an uncomfortable reminder of one particular breed of English child (among many in my wizened, curmudgeonly world view) that I would delight in seeing exterminated, rather than having to endure singing at me in cheery cockney voices as if they're in 'Oliver!' I hate those sweet boys.
Advantages: Nice incorporation of orchestra beyond the usual standard of metal releases.
Disadvantages: A bland collection of power metal songs and rubbish ballads, disguised as a masterpiece.
Kalmanto
Helstinky from Start to Finnish
*
Written on 25.11.07
Ajattara is a sort of side-project of members from various Helsinki metal bands, and takes its name from an evil goddess of the forest in local folklore. Beyond that, all song titles and lyrics are in their native Finnish, so I haven't a clue what this is all about. Not that the language barrier presents a problem; in fact, I enjoy it when black metal bands use their native tongue to communicate their sinister pagan ideas, as it makes it all more authentic somehow. And it's all inaudible noise when growled in that raspy yell in any case.
It's a shame then that Ajattara's use of Finnish language is pretty much the only point of interest here, and that's only because I haven't heard their previous four albums. I'm surprised the band has had such a prolific decade, as based on the sound of this most recent album, they don't have anything much to add to an already oversaturated genre. Pasi Koskinen, styling himself as Ruoja, provides a mix of black metal growls and medium range clean vocals, and his impressive CV features such notable bands as Amorphis, during their lengthy flirtation with commercial success, and the depressing doom band Shape of Despair. He also provides guitar along with Kalmos (Vesa Wahlroos), but this is just one of the instruments played to extreme dissatisfaction throughout, never scaling the emotive or energetic heights that Ruoja's vocals often attain, and mostly ambling along in an over-repetitive groove. Shade Empire's Juha Harju plays all-but-inaudible bass and provides modest backing vocals under the alias Tohtori Kuolio, and Sinergy's former drummer Tommi Lillman plods through with some brainless double bass work and fittingly repetitive and similarly bland rhythms, adopting the pseudonym Malakias IV perhaps to draw attention to the band's revolving door of disillusioned musicians that has seen a different drummer (among other members) for nearly every release.
It's a disappointment that musicians from such prestigious and varied backgrounds within the lucrative Helsinki metal scene came up with something so worthless, their powers of melodic death, funeral doom, black and power metal combining to form a crap Captain Planet out of tedious, talentless, badly played trite. Even more disappointing is that the album doesn't even go the full way to being absolutely godawful, which would at least grant it some reluctant comedy value. No, it's far more boring than that, coming in towards the 'very rubbish' part of the spectrum, like those films that are so pointlessly awful, they don't even hold a prestigious position on the IMDB's Bottom 100 list of must-see garbage. It's the 'Hercules Against the Moon Men' of melodic black metal.
1. Ilkitie
2. Turhuuden takila
3. Madot
4. ...putoan
5. Harhojen virta
6. Suruntuoja
7. Naimalaulu
8. Alttarilla aamutähden
9. Kalmanto
Most songs on this disappointingly/mercifully short album (depending on your perspective. The second one is more correct though) sound similar to the point of total blurring, especially as the listener isn't invited to pay too much attention to the droning repetition of simplistic groove riffs overlaid with often jarring and misused keyboards and Ruoja's vocals, which are by no means excellent, but are the only aspect of the music that manage to impress to any degree. In most songs he opts for a reliable emotive growl in the vein of Norway's Count Grishnackh, but some choruses, such as those of the first and fourth songs, usher forth a more melodic and sing-song performance that's joined by his companions. His clean vocals aren't up to as much as his growl, judging by this album alone (I haven't heard anything from his era of Amorphis), but the final song certainly demonstrates his range if nothing else whatsoever within its four minutes of background noise and slowed, staccato riffs.
As with many Helsinki bands, chiefly the rather extreme Finntroll, there seems to be some yearning to connect with folk history, which would be in accordance with the band's alleged pagan themes, and elements of some songs border on the edge of a folk direction, most notably the keyboard melody of 'Naimalaulu' that seems intent on replicating a wind instrument. More successful are the two tracks that veer towards a Viking metal style, namely songs five and eight which adopt a slightly slower tempo and for once, manage to incorporate the keyboards properly to enhance the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is taken up by dull, lowest-common-denominator riff-centric metal that lacks the vital ingredient of riffs that are any good. There's something of an atmosphere created by the album, but the songs are all so repetitive, mechanical and relatively short that this mood isn't granted time to gestate in any form, try as they might to artificially enhance it with samples of tortured screams in several songs, replaced with the highly original idea of a woman having an orgasm in track seven (the same thing having been done to a far greater degree by Aborym).
Ultimately, 'Kalmanto' is a worthless album of melodic black metal that lacks energy, creativity and pretty much everything else that should be expected of such a release. It isn't hilariously bad - there are no ambitious ideas falling flat on their face - it's just very rubbish.
Advantages: Lyrics in Finnish, for natives who hate English.
Disadvantages: Dull and ineffective.
Timeless Realm
Lifetime Gave Me Timeless Dreams to Fly
***
Written on 27.11.07
Another review of another mediocre metal band, this time slotting with disappointing ease into the established softer side of modern progressive metal. The debut from Brazil's Akashic sounds similar to many other bands playing this melodic strand of prog, which is based more on traditional song structures and instrumentation with only a little in the way of extended solo sections and a couple of jarring time shifts to demonstrate its progressive credentials, and ultimately ends up sounding like a combination of a bland Threshold, a sub-par Symphony X and a poor man's Shadow Gallery, the latter of which is really saying something.
Despite the band's origins in the technically-oriented 'solo' band of guitarist Marcos De Ros, the fret theatrics are toned down considerably for this more mainstream release, based primarily in fairly simple, chugging riffs reminiscent of Symphony X, eventually complimented by brief, neo-classical solos reminiscent of Symphony X. Drummer Mauricio Meinert doesn't particularly stand out at the back, in contrast to the arguable over-reliance on Éder Bergozza's keyboards as a lead instrument, featuring almost as prominently as the guitars despite mainly focusing on slightly annoying twinkly melodies and, on occasion, some seriously sub-Symphony X solos. Singer Rafael Gubert carries out most of his performance in a melodic, almost poppy manner similar to Threshold in the less prestigious era under Mac, but occasionally veers into metal territory with a slightly angrier snarl that chiefly brings to mind Russell Allen of a band whose name you can probably guess. It has an X in it. Last but surprisingly not least is Fábio Elves, whose bass guitar work has been toned down a little from his tenure in De Ros but who still gets a couple of nice lead moments in the last couple of tracks, almost as if he wanted to snag a mention in my review. Well done.
Gubert's voice isn't a bad aspect of the album, and in fact fits in very well with the melodic direction, but it's the stale sound itself that I have the real gripes with; the instruments are merely competent for the most part, and it feels like every song is stretched far beyond its natural end point into over-repetition and, less commonly, unnecessary attempts to prove the band's proginess that don't really convince. Only a few songs come in short of five minutes, and these tend to be the better ones, though the epic centrepiece 'Memories,' despite only really being epic in terms of length, manages to encourage a more thoughtful and interesting performance from all concerned in this otherwise inoffensively bland release. With so many superior prog metal albums out there following this same commercial direction (as opposed to bands pursuing a more interesting, avant-garde direction or just those interested in replicating the showmanship of Dream Theater), this album can only end up seeming a little pointless, with its obvious ballads and slightly dodgy lyrics. Still, there's only so many times you can listen to Threshold's sci-fi stories, and it does have a pleasant front cover doesn't it?
1. Heaven's Call
2. For Freedom
3. Voices and Signs
4. Who Am I?
5. The Fire of Temptation
6. Dove
7. Memories
8. Salvation
9. Gates of Firmament
10. Veiled Secrets
There are a couple of different styles present on this album, neither of which will come as a surprise to anyone with preconceptions of a soft prog metal album, or indeed any rock album in general. Nothing's too fast to cross over into the prog-power style of fellow Brazilians Angra, and the progressive influence never takes over to the point of inaccessibility or songs that take a while to grow on you. That said, it will probably take several listens to fully appreciate this album simply because it tends to wash over the listener in its repetition, but those repeated listens are better spent elsewhere. Most of these songs are based in simple power chords and hard riffs to make them sufficiently 'metal,' though there's nothing too heavy here, and every so often a piano ballad comes along to spoil things, most notably the weak point of the album in 'Dove.'
Fitting to their spirit of obviousness and predictability, each song's direction can be correctly deduced simply by reading the title: the more fantasy- and mythology-based 'Voices and Signs,' 'The Fire of Temptation' and 'Gates of Firmament' sound like Symphony X off-cuts and are suitably the slightly heavier, shorter, more energetic and consequently best offerings. 'For Freedom' and 'Who Am I?' are softer and keyboard-led, with peacefully plucking guitars and heroic, anthemic choruses, acceptably catchy in a breezy sort of way but overdosing on the keys, while the aforementioned 'Dove' and 'Veiled Secrets' take this one step further into more traditional and tedious ballads. The odd-ones-out are opener 'Heaven's Call' and 'Memories,' which squeeze in some tempo changes and further solo spots in an attempt to improve the album's prog credibility, and thankfully both are pretty good, if negatively affected by the additional length required. The problem with these more experimental sections are that they present an otherwise non-existent barrier to the album's acceptance as radio-friendly rock, which it was never really going to be anyway, though it would at least have been effective as generic background music.
Akashic is a rather disappointing direction for the skilled musicians formerly of De Ros, and grateful as I am that they spared the world another Dream Theater clone, they merely took the similarly uninspired direction of a Threshold sound-alike. The band's second album 'A Brand New Day,' released in 2005, seems to have tackled the issue of unnecessary song length, but it remains to be seen whether the band has truly progressed to a point where their sound has become their own.
Advantages: Mellow, accessible prog metal.
Disadvantages: Lacks the expected experimental angle.
Rape of the Bastard Nazarene
Many Realities Unfold Betwixt a Rich Fruit of Locusts
***
Written on 29.11.07
This debut release from the eternally besuited, well-groomed and well-mannered London gents who are nevertheless clearly going to Hell (if they really do believe all this stuff), fails to shake off the sense of being a slightly overlong demo tape. By slightly I mean it comes in at a still meagre thirty-five minutes rather than twenty-five, and by demo I mean unpolished, raw-sounding compositions connected by worthless interludes in a deceptive attempt to bulk out the track-list to something approaching ten. The good news is that the dingy world of black metal is perfectly suited to just this type of raw performance, many bands bizarrely sounding far more palatable when stripped down to a thin, fuzzy sound than when subjected to the infernal mechanisms of a high-budget studio, and Akercocke's violent, mournful and disturbed sound doesn't suffer one bit from this primitive, tomb-like atmosphere, though it also fails to use it to any real advantage in evoking eeriness.
The low production values will likely ward off cautious listeners - you know, the ones who haven't already been scared away by the obscenity and suggestiveness of the title and artwork or the rude word skilfully secreted inside the band name - but the musicians are fortunately on top form, their skill being audible and wholly enjoyable despite a lack of extra force in the mix. Both guitars can be distinctly heard, and play off against each other nicely on occasion, handled by Paul Scanlan and Jason Mendonça, who also provides an impressive range of vocals from the standard low grunt of brutal death metal (Cannibal Corpse, Mortician) to very effective incorporation of harrowed, breathy clean vocals in tracks two and nine; a really piercing yell in track three that puts contemporaries Cradle of Filth to shame; a forceful yell in track ten, and an extended performance in a softer, gothic style for the excellent fifth track. Peter Theobald's bass is fleshed out by the thin production and provides distinct rhythms for all songs while the guitars mess around with solos, and the drums of David Gray (no, not that one. That would be funny though) range from full-pelt blast beats to more relaxed, catchy rhythms in the more atmospheric songs and interludes. The line-up lacks a keyboard player at this point, another factor serving to make this album unique, but prominent samples of voices and atmospheric or mechanical sound effects are still employed on about half of the tracks.
The album begins with a clichéd forsaking of God and invocation of Satan that's so short as to be on the verge of skip-worthy, the first of many wastes of time here, but the rest of the album avoids falling into the tedious territory of mere Satan worship for shock's sake, offering a mix of emotive and often downright strange pleas and accounts that are more often than not tinged with sexuality and overflowing with evil, though not in an overtly disgusting, Cannibal Corpse way. The band's genre has provided a source of debate as far back as their previous incarnation as Salem Orchid, with some insisting on black metal, others going for death metal, and most agreeing to place a slash mark in the middle and accept it as a combination of both. On this first album the seams are a little more evident, with some tracks falling slightly more obviously into each respective camps and others slipping off the scale entirely. It's not that unusual, not even that good from a critical perspective, but it's interesting.
1. Declaration
2. Hell
3. Nadja
4. The Goat
5. Marguerite and Gretchen
6. Sephiroth Rising
7. Zuleika
8. Conjuration
9. Il Giardino Di Monte Oliveto Maggiore
10. Justine
66. The Blood
From the daft 'Declaration' where some well-spoken girls renounce God in a manner that I can't help finding slightly alluring (I'm a sucker for the accent, as opposed to the message), the album lets rip with a couple of fast songs in the black/death style, the former being slightly more attuned to black metal in its harsh, treble-heavy guitars and reliance on gimmicky effects, and the second being more in line with traditional death with its hammering drums, heavy breakdowns and guitars that sound like they're scraping against the roof of a coffin. This is also the first taste of a squealy, discordant guitar solo, which the gentlemen improve upon significantly with later tracks. Unfortunately, just as things are getting interesting, the listener is forced to contend with the first of three tedious and entirely worthless interlude tracks, this one using cheap horror sound effects and crunchy static in a pale imitation of Ulver's scary intro to their classic 'Een Stemme Locker' that has been more recently ripped off by Agalloch numerous times. The problem with Akercocke's eerie interludes here is that none of them really sound eerie in any way, the sound effects never convincing of the evil presence that haunts similar compositions from the likes of Behemoth and Burzum, and most often (as is the case with tracks six and sixty-six), sounding more like someone scrolling through the sound effects from a 'Sonic the Hedgehog' game.
Ignoring this second pointless bridge between them, 'Marguerite and Gretchen' and 'Zuleika' represent the peak of the album, the first seeing the band's gothic romantic side come to the fore with a style initially reminiscent of Eighties goth, including the catchy, repetitive drum beat, deep vocals and repeated guitar hook, but inevitably collapsing back into a black metal cacoffiny for the energetic conclusion. The lyrics are expectedly lovelorn in a slightly twisted way as Mendonça divulges the pleasure he experiences, as "I inhale the sweetness of the innocence I destroy," and there's even a nice female presence in the form of a soprano who sings sweet, wordless nothings in the more pleasant sections. It's a nicely confused song, and probably this album's main selling point. 'Zuleika' is very different, opting for a straightforward death metal direction in the classic style, with the tale of insatiable lust communicated solely through indecipherable grunts, and guitars spewing solos like so much spilled blood. The poor production may prevent it from attaining the head-crushing ferocity of higher budget extreme metal acts, but there's enough sheer force as each section leaps with increasing ferocity to the next that this really doesn't become an issue. You can tell the subject matter is angrier because there's a strong swear word in the lyrics, as well as some lines that are just plain weird: "I could almost believe in Allah for your sake."
Ignoring the chanted 'Conjuration' is the only reasonable course of action to proceed to the final two impressive songs, disappointingly only the fifth and sixth if scrutinising the album from a value-for-money angle that it really doesn't stand up to, and the style returns to that of the openers. 'Il Giardino Di Monte Oliveto Maggiore' is enjoyable, boasting a great main riff and cool, creepy singing that sounds disconcertingly uncertain of itself, but it becomes quite clear at this point that the band has effectively run out of ideas, presumably the reason behind half of this album being made up of half-hearted filler. 'Justine' is even more irritating as the finale, taking over a minute of white noise to get started (and nearly as long to conclude), and once again resorting to ineffective samples to needlessly bulk out the sound, though it has to be said that there are some really good lead guitars in this one. As a final treat - or more likely, an attempt to add yet more deceptive value to this limited release by adding some minutes to the counter - there are fifty-five tracks of brief silence before a final bonus track comes in and subjects the listener to a few more rubbish Sonic sound effects. The most pathetic thing of all is, there isn't even anything nasty about the number 66; the band clearly intended it as a sort of joke or clever point concerning the supposed number of the beast, which is actually six hundred greater, but as CD players are only programmed to read up to 99 tracks the joke falls flat on its stupid Satanic face.
Akercocke would go on to release some of the more refined and interesting albums in British extreme metal, but this debut is best avoided unless you go in for the ambient experience of frequent interludes and don't mind them being considerably sub-standard. There are a few decent songs on here, but it's the fact that there are so few that's the problem; stemming from a previous band formed seven years earlier, you'd think these gentlemen would have amassed more material by 1999, but alas, they were probably preoccupied at the tailor's or the masque or something.
Advantages: Some nice, raw, devilish metal from posh Londoners.
Disadvantages: Interludes are far too frequent, far too tedious and far too terrible.
Fantasmagorie
Esy, Floresy, Fantasmagorie!
***
Written on 04.12.07
The third album from Poland's ska-punk-reggae-pop band Akurat provides thirteen more songs that continue to mix their various influences in various ways, with varying degrees of success. Released on the prominent Polish label Metal Mind, the album has a great polished (Polished?) production sound suited to the light, jangly ska guitars and prominent brass, but is also fully capable of delivering a more powerful kick on the rare occasions this is necessary. Tinged with pop vocal melodies to keep it accessible, this album should appeal to all fans of the lighter side of reggae-influenced ska, as long as non-Polish speakers don't mind not being able to understand a word that's being said.
The band is fronted by Tomasz Klaptocz, whose vocals are soft and pleasant enough to retain commercial appeal, and occasionally veer into a slightly irritating/relaxing (depending on your point of view) easy listening murmur. Klaptocz also provides the trumpets, mostly used sparingly to add the rhythm section but occasionally - increasingly it seems, as the album approaches the end - substituting for a lead instrument in place of the guitars. The trumpets, along with the saxophone and flute occasionally provided by Przemyslaw Zwias, add a nice sense of depth and variety to what would otherwise be a fairly standard happy rock album, and as much as they may irritate listeners who aren't fond of horns, their careful and comparatively limited presence manages to convey a range of emotions and give English listeners a clue as to the mood or subject of each song.
The whole ska/reggae thing is obviously a very old and clichéd sound so many years down the line, and this album never strives to achieve anything unrealistically original, instead working to perfect the band's own hybrid of the sound, moving away from their punk roots towards a more mainstream direction with no loss of talent or creativity. There's a very obvious shift between slower, chilled-out reggae offerings and happy, bouncy ska-pop, but most impressive of all are the songs that fall somewhere between, or incorporate further, odder influences into the mix. The genre's customary jangly guitars are provided by Piotr Wróbel and Wojciech Zólty, sometimes shifting to a heavier tone and even offering a couple of very rare solos, while Ireneusz Wojnar's bass does a great job filling in the rhythm section in their place, certainly a more demanding and rewarding job than it would be for a more typical rock band in which guitars would drown the instrument out. Lukasz Gocal's drums set the various moods perfectly, but are otherwise a little devoid of inspiration.
1. Tylko najwieksi
2. Fantasmagorie
3. Slowa maja mnie
4. Kiedy wróce tu
5. Demo
6. Sama smietanka
7. Szerzej
8. Garb
9. Kiedy blizej z toba bede
10. Jeden czlowiek to jeden sens
11. Pracuje
12. Lan
13. Czy to juz
As noted, the album tends to fall into three distinct camps of slow reggae, bouncy ska-pop and "something slightly different," so it's most insightful to analyse the album from those three respective areas. The first, slower sound opens the album with the relaxing first track before shifting up a gear in the second, a jarring pattern executed repeatedly through the forty-five minute recording to keep listeners on their toes, and this first offering is a fair overview of what is to come (at least, in this particular style): the Polish vocals are fairly deep and thoughtful, the bass is prominent, and the trumpets are used sparingly to enhance and spice up the background. Track four, 'Kiedy wróce tu,' returns to this focus of the vocals carrying listeners through as the main instrument against a dub-style instrumental backdrop, but fails to do anything really new. This also disappointingly becomes the failing of 'Kiedy blizej z toba bede' and the penultimate 'Lan,' lacking in the energy of the more upbeat songs and only compensating for their dullness with some interesting sax and trumpet leads. The latter half of the album tends to be the less impressive in general, no matter what style is being attempted.
The happy-crappy ska-pop songs are among the most enjoyable, particularly in contrast to the often relaxing-but-nothing-else tedium of the slower pieces, and things are kicked off nicely with the title track, rightfully selected as the album's first single. The jovial "ba-ba-ba" trumpets will put some people off straight away, but the chorus is nice and catchy (I don't know what any of it means, but that doesn't matter), the sprightly, slightly higher vocals are pleasing on the ear, and there's a nice, loose instrumental section towards the end. The following track 'Slowa maja mnie' attempts a similar thing to less effect, but thankfully slows down a little to achieve a more meaningful tone, aided by the lower vocals and ominous, clunking bass. The vocal melody is catchy once again, and actually serves to remind me mainly of theme tunes to imported Easter European cartoon series of my youth (like 'Alfred J. Kwak,' 'Ovide' and others that I can't remember the names of). There's also a sax solo, which is always a nice touch.
This particular, upbeat style is arguably perfected with the sixth track 'Sama smietanka,' my favourite on the album, which unleashes a great punk energy right from the start that is absent from most of the other songs, and even plunges into a heavier, almost heavy metal chorus. Things are brightened up even further with unexpected solos towards the end for the bass, trumpet and even guitar. A proper guitar solo has to wait until 'Garb,' another interesting song that combines conflicting elements of mainstream accessibility (poppy vocals, obvious structure) with more distinctive, artistic touches (a weird water effect over the guitar, a weird intro handled by drums and vocals exclusively, and limited, forceful application of trumpet blasts as farty punctuation at the end of lines). As the album approaches its less exciting final section, where all the best ideas seem to have been used up, the only comparable offering is the frankly dull 'Pracuja,' which seems slotted in simply to break up the tedium with some upbeat energy. It doesn't really work, and the bizarre contrast between tangential instrumental sections and plodding, whispered verses are a little too distracting.
This leaves the songs that strive to be "something slightly different," predictably providing some of the album's most interesting and most disappointing tangents. The oddly titled 'Demo' is a prominent song for the trumpets, which work to bookend a main section of exhausting, almost disinterested spoken word vocals in the style of Mark E. Smith from The Fall, and which also overcomes the obstacle of overlong song duration present in some of the previous pieces. This vocal style re-emerges a little in the fun 'Szerzej,' though this far happier song is most notable for its trumpet-led chorus featuring the band shouting the title in unison. On a different wavelength entirely, 'Jeden czlowiek to jeden sens' is a semi-acoustic song that stands out nicely from the rest of the songs but doesn't do anything particularly noteworthy with itself, while the final, stylistically varied song has sections reminiscent of 80s TV show themes and Spanish chill-out music respectively, and as such avoids being my cup of tea.
Akurat's third album brings nothing new to the music world and takes permissible delight in its reproduction of the band's favourite sounds, most of which are combined skilfully and entertainingly. There's an obvious and disappointing drop in quality as the album enters its second half, and it loses points for failing to maintain interest throughout. This does at least mean that the earlier songs are mostly of a distinctly high quality, and that by being grouped together in this way, it's easy to listen to the best of the album without having to skip around all over the place; just hit the stop button after twenty minutes or so.
Advantages: Fun and skilfully executed modern ska tunes.
Disadvantages: Indecipherable lyrics (for non-Poles) and less imaginative reggae sections.
Symphony for a Psychosis
Blasphemy is the Name of My Game
***
Written on 06.12.07
This freely available demo from French brutal death metal band Al Azred was released according to the Creative Commons license of non-commercial distribution, an effective and wise use of the internet to spread another random death metal demo that would otherwise go all but unheard (and still will, but to slightly lesser extent). Despite hailing from Grenoble, the band reproduce the characteristic American style of brutal death metal without any embellishment or alteration, the only real point of significance being the talented solos of lead guitarist Jerome that unapologetically dominate each of the six main tracks.
Brutal death metal, as its rather obstinate name suggests, is merely an exaggeration of Florida death metal that favours violently hammering percussion and, most distinctively, an even more extreme version of the death metal growling style that seems to move further down the throat into the vocalist's very guts, a rather nauseating gurgled croak specifically designed to weed out the faint-hearted and give an all-out performance to the masochists who remain. The most prominent proponents of the style were the defunct Demilich, but Cannibal Corpse have achieved greater success and publicity through their gimmicky use of over-the-top violent imagery in their controversial album cover art, song titles and lyrics. Al Azred's subject matter, while never actually audible through the digestive process being fed into the microphone, runs more along the traditional lines of death metal, taking an angry but heartfelt stance against perceived thought control and abuse of liberties, and mixing it up with a couple of tales of demonic possession, madness and the thirst for murder.
This demo album was recorded in the band's home studio, and the quality is very impressive for a self-funded release, easily comparable to properly financed studio albums but coming in a little too short to fool anyone at just under twenty minutes. The production tows a pleasing line between the high audibility needed to capture the intensity of the performance and the subtle bass range of the vocal growls, while retaining the raw, home-grown atmosphere of an independent release. While the aforementioned Jerome (surname unknown to me) is the undisputed star, the other two band members are also noteworthy: Erich Zann's vocals must take a lot of practice and endurance, even if they end up sounding like a less effective form of the same style being used by numerous other acts from the early nineties onwards, and his rhythm guitar can be heard as a distinct and supportive presence, though the same can't be said for his bass programming in substitution of the real thing. The drum kit is manned by a bloke calling himself Azazel, and he skilfully manages a fair range of styles and speeds from hammering blast beats to rounded double bass assaults and slower, more thought-out rhythms.
1. Horror Land
2. Annihilated Brain
3. B.L.O.O.D. (Beyond Life Origins of Death)
4. Devil's Wrath
5. Funeral March
6. Mental Ascetism
7. Suicide
8. 15 Minutes 21 Grams
After the insubstantial intro - an orgy of screams pitted against the jolly sound of a funfair, the instruments kick in and lead us straight into the promisingly titled 'Annihilated Brain.' While the first half of the song falls back on machine-gun-like rhythms a little too often, it adds enough changeable guitar riffs to keep things interesting before the real delights of Jerome's Eastern-tinged leads and solos in the second half. 'B.L.O.O.D.' is the highlight of the album in building upon the previous song and improving it substantially, throwing out enough great death metal leads to keep things from becoming dull and once again allowing the solos to dominate the proceedings towards the end as they will for the rest of the album, apart from the final outro piece. The majority of these songs follow a very similar sound, but there's still enough variety with the increased brutality of 'Mental Ascetism' and the obvious Slayer worship of the thrashy 'Funeral March' adding enough variety for death metal fans - anyone else who happens to overhear will assume it's just some form of violent, scary noise, and I suppose they're right to an extent.
While 'B.L.O.O.D.' represents the peak of the band's abilities and the penultimate 'Suicide' makes for a nice meeting of the (slightly) varied styles that have been demonstrated in the previous songs, this is still a distinctly average and uninspired collection of derivative brutal death metal aided to an enormous extent by the talents of a virtuoso guitarist, but of course it earns special lenience for being a self-produced demo, and further points for enthusiastically embracing a free distribution process. Al Azred isn't a name you're going to hear any more of, even if you keep up with the brutal death metal scene (as I know the majority of you do... yeah, right. I seriously wouldn't recommend doing so in any case, as it all sounds disappointingly samey and mediocre after Demilich). Still, metal fans in that region of France will probably get some enjoyable gigs out of this group, as soon as they replace their bass machine with a flesh and blood being.
They've been around since 2001 and after spending five years designing a complex logo, their first recording is a fairly impressive feat - just wait until the lead guitarist is plucked from the gutter and signed up to a really high quality outfit.
Advantages: Superb guitars, and good enough reproduction of the brutal death style.
Disadvantages: Lacks originality in pretending to be American.
Open Fire
The Stakes Are High: I Must Not Die
****
Written on 08.12.07
This year's release from those southern-fried proponents of beer-chugging, bar-room-brawl metal Alabama Thunderpussy is probably the best they've ever done, emerging slightly higher in its repetitive, derivative, dead-horse sound than their earlier efforts that sounded pretty much the same. As mainstream metal divided in the early nineties, the absurdly overrated Pantera popularised their brand of angry and dirty Texan groove metal, essentially an off-shoot of eighties thrash that slowed things down and replaced its interesting guitars with some pinchy squeaks, and attracted a legion of loyal, obnoxious, angry fans as well as a crowd of imitators. While the best was Down, Pantera's own side-project-of-sorts, Virginia's Alabama Thunderpussy emerged as the best Pantera clone for ironing out that band's most irritating flaws. At least they have now, at what some may consider to be a decade or so too late.
The odd thing here is, Alabama Thunderpussy (although I'll be typing that a lot, I won't bother to abbreviate it, as I think it deserves to be read a few times) have advanced their sound somewhat on this most recent recording by heading even further back in the heavy metal timeline, incorporating a distinct flavour of the ever-popular Judas Priest in many of Erik Larson and Ryan Lake's guitar riffs and dominant lead harmonies, aided by the more traditional metal vocals of newcomer Kyle Thomas (ex-Exhorder). The heavy metal foundation, however old and derivative, makes this much more appealing to my tastes than the band's more hard-rock-oriented offerings, and even mellows the sound somewhat even when it's firmly in the Southern metal camp. Thomas' angry vocals fit predictably into that scene most of the time but are still among the best I've heard from this particular sub-genre, and unlike his contemporaries and predecessors, his softer style doesn't sound like a third rate country singer.
While Alabama Thunderpussy could never be described as a band concerned with participating in the evolution of music, and most of their songs do sound pretty much the same, I'm glad they've chosen a more pleasing pathfinder to follow here: even the silly album cover stinks of classic heavy metal cheese.
1. The Cleansing
2. Void of Harmony
3. Words of the Dying Man
4. The Beggar
5. None Shall Return
6. Whiskey War
7. A Dreamer's Fortune
8. Valor
9. Open Fire
10. Brave the Rain
11. Greed
'The Cleansing' is the perfect opening track, as it sets up the style that will dominate the next forty minutes while remaining distinctly average to keep listeners waiting for the better songs to follow. Thomas' vocals are very powerful here, even if his primary melody sounds exactly like Priest's 'Rapid Fire,' and the lyrics offer a great smorgasbord of assorted violent images to satisfy the palate, from bodies littering the shore to swimming with the hungry shark and the wrath of a woman scorned. It's all good stuff, and the guitars move from generic 70s Priest to generic 80s thrash, all processed through crystal clear modern production, with the first of many guitar solos is tagged on to the end more out of necessity than anything. This angry style continues through track three with more Priest riffs (circa 1981) and five (1978) before reaching its peak in 'Valor,' an excellent modern heavy metal song with a narrative of battle and excellent performances all-round, with plenty of lead guitar harmonies, a great slow-lo and drums that actually do something interesting for once, a style that thankfully permeates through the final tracks of the album. Ultimately, the song's nothing that every band wasn't doing in 1980, but it's a tasteful, competent and respectful repetition of the style.
Despite the possibility of each song sounding similar to the point of tedium for casual listeners, this album has quite a lot going for it, not only in terms of simple, catchy riffs that will stay in the listener's head. 'Void of Harmony' has some effective, non-gratuitous tempo shifts from its hard, thrashing beginning to slower chorus sections and even a soft respite, and Thomas shows the first signs of an ability to reach for the high notes, something that he teasingly refrains from doing for much of the album before letting out that heartfelt scream in 'Brave the Rain.' Things get very interesting and unexpected with 'The Beggar,' the most different-sounding song on here that follows an entirely melodic, grander and harmonious style that won't appeal to Pantera fans rating songs according to their ingenious analysis of the amount of 'balls' it possesses (this one is more or less spayed), but breaks things up perfectly without the need for an acoustic ballad. Acoustic ballads are still okay according to the balls system, apparently, but high electric guitars are for poofs. Let's not remind those people of Pantera's embarrassing glam rock career that the band would later do their best to cover up, holocaust-denial-style.
'Whiskey War' is a fun song; catchy, short and simple both musically and lyrically (as can be deduced from the title), but with a distinctly clichéd seventies rock solo and a lack of anything too special, it's no 'Ace of Spades.' Less impressive is its successor 'A Dreamer's Fortune,' which replicates the style of the great fourth track to some extent, but loses out due to unnecessary aggression and over-repetition to the point that the song might as well be looped for the second half. The promising title track is heavier and more demonic than the rest but similarly fails due to a lack of stand-out ideas, but 'Greed' makes for a great finale. What could easily have been a randomly chosen song to go out on, this is pleasingly self-conscious of its climactic responsibility, and proceeds from a mournful lead guitar overture to a catchy distorted riff, keeping an ominous tone throughout the whole performance - although this is something achieved literally by the guitars, rather than a perceived atmosphere.
'Open Fire' is an entirely non-essential album, but one that will certainly please fans of American metal following a more traditional and superior style. It doesn't sound much like Pantera at all, thank god, but for those concerned about the album cover, it sounds like Manowar even less.
Advantages: Good incorporation of classic metal style, with great guitars and improved vocals.
Disadvantages: Too content to be nothing new.
The Alan Parsons Project
Tales of Mystery and Imagination
A Class of Fancies of Exquisite Delicacy
****
Written on 10.12.07
"Since the comprehension of sweet sound is our most indefinite conception, music, when combined with a pleasurable idea, is poetry. Music without the idea is simply music. Without music or an intriguing idea, colour becomes pallor, man becomes carcass, home becomes catacomb, and the dead are but for a moment motionless."
Thus quoth Edgar Allen Poe in a passage narrated from beyond the grave by the late Orson Welles for the CD remaster of the Alan Parsons Project's first ambitious concept album, a progressive rock rendition of Poe's writings. The Project was a joint operation between acclaimed music producer Alan Parsons (responsible in no small part for the success of Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon,' one of the greatest albums ever recorded) and musician Eric Woolfson, drafting in a variety of singers and musicians to produce this exquisite audio fancy.
Taking note of Hollywood's increased focus and freedom granted to film directors such as Hitchcock, Parsons believed that his skills and experience as a music producer could be implemented into a recording of his own. His flair can indeed be seen throughout this recording, which places neatly trimmed, catchy, radio-friendly songs against more ambitious instrumentals for the discerning music fan, while the whole thing is saturated with layers of sound that tow an interesting line between subtlety and a desire to draw attention to themselves to show just how clever Parsons can be. It's a risky endeavour that could easily have failed disastrously, but careful and talented execution succeeded in granting the Alan Parsons Project its first considerable success, both financially and critically. Of course, it's still rife with problems.
The major criticism seems to be the album's failure to live up to its source material, especially in terms of mood. Woolfson had conceived of a Poe concept album several years previously and it was presumably natural to use this as the inspiration for the Project's first project, but the predominantly upbeat, mellow , soft rock direction it ended up following really doesn't lend itself that well to evoking a terrifying atmosphere. The only times the music approaches the mood of a classic gothic horror are in contrived 'creepy' organ passages and redundant sound effects, though the instrumentals fare better on the whole, especially with Welles' deep narrative piercing into the listener's soul. Welles' contributions were evidently absent from the original album due to some problem, dispute or other, but were thankfully restored for the CD release eleven years later (some years after Welles' death), which saw Parsons return to the original masters and re-master the whole thing completely. Whether this was for purely aesthetic reasons or George Lucas style revision of history, this is the version of the album we have today.
1. A Dream Within a Dream
2. The Raven
3. The Tell-Tale Heart
4. The Cask of Amontillado
5. (The System Of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether
6. The Fall of the House of Usher: Prelude
7. The Fall of the House of Usher: Arrival
8. The Fall of the House of Usher: Intermezzo
9. The Fall of the House of Usher: Pavane
10. The Fall of the House of Usher: Fall
11. To One in Paradise
It's always great to see songwriters tackling the literary classics, whether they succeed or fail embarrassingly, and this isn't exactly one of the most enlightening. Poe's stories provide a mere foundation for the Project's often contradictory musical embellishment, particularly in the shorter songs of the first half of the album before the listener is engulfed by the traditional over-ambitious prog 'epic' that dominates the second. The first track is probably my favourite of the lot, beginning with Welles' immortal narration soon joined by a softly sweeping orchestra and tinkling piano, before launching into a great instrumental opening. A variety of instruments are used, moving from soft, Oriental-sounding wind instruments to a more typical seventies synthesiser once the song falls into a rhythm. Despite the complexity of its arrangement and layering, the actual melodies themselves are all kept very simple and easy to follow, and it's clear that Parsons learned a thing or two from working with Pink Floyd: the guitars (provided by numerous musicians across the recording) often lapse into the reclining, dreamy wails of 'Dark Side of the Moon,' particularly and most relevantly here. In less competent and experienced hands, this opening could have been an overlong and jarring composition, but Parsons edits it to perfection.
It's at this point however that the album starts to slip, at least from a critical point of view. The remaining songs of the first half are all kept catchy and melodious, but rely too greatly on repetition and hooks to be comparable to more interesting prog bands of the time. 'The Raven' is the first vocal song and the only one sung by Parsons himself, albeit distorted through the ever-popular vocoder most of the time. I would have suggested that this rather gimmicky device (also featured prominently in Pink Floyd's 'Animals' album) dates this album badly, until I remembered groups such as Daft Punk that continue to rely on its wizardry to convince listeners that they are, in fact, robots. So maybe this was merely ahead of its time. The main rhythm is simplistic and memorable once again, even if the plodding percussion is entirely devoid of interest, and even irritated fans of 'real' music will likely appreciate the buried symphony. Unfortunately, this song relies on the same quiet/loud structural limitations that would affect Pink Floyd hereafter.
'The Tell-Tale Heart' retrieves some of the album's avant-garde credibility through its memorable vocal performance from the legendary Arthur "God of Hellfire" Brown, putting in the most enthusiastic and manic singing of the album, even in the bits in-between the desperate verses where he should technically keep his mouth closed. This is a more guitar-oriented song and as such a little less demanding, but once again a softer instrumental section keeps things in check. 'The Cask of Amontillado' deviates even further by throwing out a mellow pop song of sorts, saved only by a cool horn section towards the end but is otherwise a fairly derivative and bland duet between John Miles in a mid-range mellow voice and John Miles in a Beatles-style high voice. Miles remains for the final song of the first half, the fun, slightly daft and surprisingly complex '(The System Of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether,' which was also released as a fairly successful single. The guitar is the dominant instrument once again, but vocals are presented in a variety of styles and ranges, before the finale expands to incorporate themes and melodies from all of the previous songs in turn. It's the sort of thing Parsons used to do with Pink Floyd, but made a little more obvious to encourage listeners to spot it.
The second half of the album (side B on the original vinyl) is dominated by the Project's instrumental take on 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' which ends up sounding not so much like a long and satisfying epic as a slightly boring mismatch of styles that takes a long time to stop ripping off Debussy and showing off with sound effects before getting into something really good in time for the final sections. Enjoying the liberties of the shiny new CD format, Parsons' remaster joins this tracks seamlessly with its predecessor and adds further narration from Orson Welles, before the orchestra is given five or six minutes to play pieces from Debussy's operatic take of the same Poe story. This is a shame really, as the basic replication means sitting through a lengthy, unaltered, un-ambitious prelude before the 'real' song begins.
This song comes into its own once the lead keyboard, wailing Floydian guitars, plodding drums and prominent, clunking bass are permitted to play it solo, abandoning the excesses of the studio and returning to a more straightforward style of rock instrumental that's far more satisfying, with some effective call-backs to the melody of the opening song that create a nice sense of continuity while also meaning they could get away with not having to come up with another pretty keyboard piece. It's no epic, and the ominous thrum that dominates the final section sounds like it's lifted straight from Floyd's 'Obscured By Clouds.' After it's done, The Hollies' Terry Sylvester sings a boring soft song that fills in as the necessary afterglow apparently desired by the record buying public, in the guise of an adaptation of 'To One in Paradise.' It's an unsatisfying finale, but one you can easily nod off to sleep through.
This is an album I've long had an unreasonable and probably exaggerated fondness for, and the only Alan Parsons Project release I can listen to as entertainment rather than sedative. It almost completely fails to capture the tone and atmosphere of its subject matter, only succeeding when actual extracts are read by Orson Welles, which would always be a dead cert (and one step away from Vincent Price). Half of the songs are short and accessible enough for anyone to listen to, and the other half is aimed more towards dedicated prog fans: only the opening instrumental 'Dream Within a Dream' bridges the two contradictory styles, and thus sets things up to be a little better than they actually are. It's a testament to his skills that Parsons didn't fall into the predictable trap of favouring production quality over actual content (well, not much anyway), and the Project concerned itself with producing an album of genuine quality. It's quite good, but it isn't scary.
Advantages: A varied and well-produced concept album.
Disadvantages: Fails to capture the spirit of Poe's works
Absolute Purity
You Pitiful Pions
**
Written on 11.12.07
Alas, here we have another death metal guitarist setting up a side project to extend his repertoire, when he should have stuck to his day job. And being guitarist for Hate Eternal, after spending considerable time with Morbid Angel, is pretty cool as far as day jobs go.
Alas is Erik Rutan's one-off (so far) operatic progressive metal project, which essentially means slowed-down melodic death metal riffs over stilted drums, with a shrieking woman placed on top. These projects can sometimes work very well, as was the case for Cynic spin-off Aghora, but here it falls rather flat, and becomes increasingly tedious as the album plods along. Rutan's riffs and solos demonstrate his obvious talent, but all sound like completely generic melodeath played at an insultingly pedestrian pace, leaving Howard Davis (of Lover of Sin) to provide some creativity with the drums that hold up remarkably well considering the limitations imposed on heaviness and power.
Just as every growling death metal bloke sounds indistinguishable from the rest, tenor Martina Astner sounds pretty much exactly the same as the other women alternating between soft singing and bombastic opera wails in gothic metal bands around the world, but her background with Sweden's opera metal godfathers Therion at least proves she's one of the more competent, only becoming too piercing and deplorable in select songs. One problem that she isn't necessarily accountable for are the absolutely abominable lyrics, littered with the worst, most basic and desperate rhymes and the most simplistic emotional subject matter extrapolated from each song title ("Come enter my realm of emotion ... Come swim in my rumbling ocean").
1. Absolute Purity
2. The Enchanted
3. Endlessly Searching
4. Silencing the Sorrow
5. Loss of a Life
6. Tragedies
7. Quest for Serenity
8. Rejection of What You Perceive
9. Surmounting the Masses
10. Longing for Destiny
Disappointingly, and surprisingly considering the album's apparent "progressive" intentions, the majority of these songs sound more or less the same, with only a couple of distinguishing touches such as a change in vocal style or the use of double bass drumming to set them apart. None stand out as particularly great, with only tracks four, six and seven earning a place very slight above average. Among the least successful tracks are those that make the castrated death metal sound all too obvious ('Loss of a Life,' 'Rejection of What You Perceive'), with Rutan's melodeath riffs and Davis' restrained drums struggling to hold themselves back from the sort of thrashing, hammering sounds they are more accustomed to producing, and sounding half-hearted as a result in this unanimously mid-tempo recording.
Martina Astner's operatic wails help to make this more of a love-it-or-hate-it album, but the later success of bands such as Finland's Nightwish have helped to make the idea more accessible, while consequently more tired and less inventive. Astner's voice works well through most of the album, particularly on the early songs that see her experiment with an even distribution of traditional singing and opera in the title track, before largely abandoning opera in the second and trying out an Eastern singing style in the third, and then realising her first idea was the best after all by the quite good 'Silencing the Sorrow.' The only times her voice really lets the recording down are in the slightly annoying fifth track, and the piercing 'Surmounting the Masses,' her swan song that comes off sounding like a dying swan in a more gritty, realistic way than Tchaikovsky envisaged. Although the closing instrumental is disappointing at best, offering four minutes for the guitarist to show off his talents with something a little different that he manages to mess up completely, it's nice that the vocals were allowed to go home early.
For the most part, the instruments work well together and never try to show off at the expense of the music, something that's always a danger with a side-project like this, but they also fail to come up with anything truly original that hasn't been done before, and would go on to be reproduced many times after. Keyboards are used sparingly to add a nice, more epic atmosphere that works most effectively in 'Quest for Serenity,' and Rutan's wealth of experience lets him know when to quieten down and let the drums, bass guitar and vocals carry verses along, making his eventual return with energetic riffs and solos all the more effective. It's still clear however that he's used to the style of death metal, where deliberately slowing the pace can make a chorus all the more hard-hitting and enjoyable, but applying such techniques here in songs like 'The Enchanted' really doesn't have the same effect, and only makes the song seem more dull and lethargic. Davis' drums come across the same problem as they attempt to introduce faster and more dynamic elements that only become lost behind the mediocre, middling pace.
'Absolute Purity' is essentially a disappointment from one of the more creative and talented figures still operating in the classic death metal scene. This clearly has an intended appeal to fans of Tampa Bay death metal as much as European gothic metal, but diluted in this manner it ends up sounding like the weakest melodic death metal band with a girl added for appeal to female fans and the sort of adolescent boys who continue to find the introduction of oestrogen into manly heavy metal a truly orgasmic and surprising idea, and one that at least allows them to justify their sexual orientation in spite the bare-chested, hairy guys plastered over their walls.
Advantages: Erik Rutan's guitars and Howard Davis' drums are mostly quite good.
Disadvantages: Weak.
The Enchanted Hill
The Green Tour E.P.
***
Written on 13.12.07
This latest self-produced E.P. from Jimmy LaValle's increasingly successful music project The Album Leaf continues in the wistfully melancholic, instrumental post-rock style of its full-length predecessor 'Into the Blue Again,' and is distributed exclusively at live shows, where LaValle replaces his multi-talented studio virtuosity with a full live band. 'The Green Tour E.P.,' or 'The Enchanted Hill' as it is alternately known, is a high quality collection of six similar instrumental pieces to accompany a mood or mental landscape of your choosing.
The Album Leaf is now LaValle's main project, and due to its purported suitability to television and advertisement soundtracks, particularly stuff like 'The O.C.,' also the most profitable. LaValle began as the guitarist for Tristeza, balancing out his commitments on various instruments for various other San Diego bands, and his perseverance with this solo project has allowed him to increasingly adapt and improve his home studio to the benefit of his recordings. The Album Leaf is predominantly post-rock ambience in the style of many bands today, but with a lighter, less apocalyptic and bipolar style than genre pioneers Mogwai, making it both more accessible and disappointing. For this E.P., LaValle's most recent output, pleasant piano melodies are accompanied by sweeping keyboards above a restless, slightly manic bassline, the sound never becoming too domineering or atmospheric but lying somewhere in-between.
1. We Need Help
2. Fear of Flying
3. Drawing Mountains
4. Enchanted Hill
5. Kevlar
6. San Simeon
The style of all six songs is fairly similar, but there are differences between most of them (excluding perhaps the final track) that demonstrate LaValle's skill and comparative variety. 'We Need Help' is the first and probably the best, beginning with a lonely piano before introducing the odd mix of clicking and whirring electronic percussion with eloquent synthesised orchestration and a melodic guitar. After this point the album becomes less enticing and more tedious with each offering until 'Enchanted Hill,' where an ominous keyboard blares out of the bland soundscape with its disturbing, unintelligible but doubtless vital message, more reminiscent of post-rock and post-metal as well as Vangelis' synthesised dystopia for the 'Blade Runner' soundtrack.
'Fear of Flying' and 'Drawing Mountains' are both slow, plodding affairs even compared to the rest of this mini-album, the former based on a painfully slow piano melody that can only be accentuated by the other instruments coming in rather than improved, and the latter song opting to do something similar with an acoustic guitar, played satisfyingly raw without hiding any of the squeaks and scrapes of the strings but still based on the same style and background rhythm as the rest of the music. 'Kevlar' is something of a surprise at least, though not in a completely positive sense, as its core melody is an uncharacteristically light-hearted, even frivolous keyboard ditty reminiscent of Kraftwerk or Jean-Michel Jarre, over which a few too many instruments are layered (including what seems to be a particularly irritating synthesised accordion) to the point of cacophony. 'San Simeon' responds by returning to the more successful style of the first song, replicating it almost exactly but at a slightly faster tempo.
The Album Leaf is an interesting project, but pales in comparison to the more creative and emotive post-rock bands out there in a consistently popular genre. While this is at least light and bland enough to remain accessible to the mainstream, its suitability as a form of contemporary lift music makes it less riveting or insightful to listen to, especially when failing to deviate much from a core template. I haven't heard the Album Leaf's earlier, longer works, but I'd assume that this short, hastily-produced E.P. isn't indicative of the highly proficient Jimmy LaValle at his peak.
Advantages: More pleasant post-rock soundscapes.
Disadvantages: Becomes fairly dull and repetitive, and lacks in emotion.
Disturbing the Peace
Could You Keep the Noise Down, Please? Oh, You Have
**
Written on 15.12.07
After the departure of guitar virtuoso / unpronounceable show-off Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Alcatrazz filled the space with rising star Steve Vai for one album only, before he went on to better (and in some cases, surprisingly worse) things. On the surface, Alcatrazz seemed like any other Los Angeles heavy metal band of the mid-80s, capitalising on the success of the region's unaffectionately termed "hair metal" before promptly disappearing as soon as everyone took a second out from partying and biking hard and realised how ridiculous the whole thing was, and that they would much rather move to Seattle and listen to depressed people in jumpers singing about how rubbish it all is. That's how it seemed on the surface, but digging deeper you realise something shocking; there is nothing down there.
This band's only claim to superiority over the hordes of local imitators - many that were more successful, others less so - was being blessed with supreme guitar talent, first with Malmsteen and here with Vai, but as was so remarkably demonstrated by the outrageously godawful Nitro, it's not enough to possess the most technically proficient guitarist in the world if his creative horizons only go as far as providing riffs and overcomplicated solos from an X-shaped guitar to songs about girls and Budweiser. Thankfully, the music of Alcatrazz is grounded a little more in reality than Nitro's, and Vai and his bandmates concentrate on delivering simple, catchy rock tunes to their easily satisfied audience.
The lyrical subject matter is as predictable as the music, only veering outside of the rock and roll lifestyle for a failed attempt at a historical epic in the style of bands like Iron Maiden. The band is most comfortable and successful when treading the Motörhead territory of sex and booze, but attempts at a more emotional connection mainly fail due to the difficulty of taking this music and image seriously. 'Will You Be Home Tonight' is the longest and slowest song, a story of a young man who lives for his bike that is rooted in a disappointingly parental message of road safety awareness - this isn't the sort of escapism I look for in stupid hair metal, making straightforward songs like 'Stripper' far more appealing. Vocals are handled reasonably well by Graham Bonnet, who mostly impresses with his dedication above and beyond in the first song, but all too soon falls back on the clichés of the high-pitched hair metal yell, and alternating between an unconvincing gruff vocal style in the more ballsy songs and an equally unconvincing mournful tone in those approaching ballads.
1. God Blessed Video
2. Mercy
3. Will You Be Home Tonight
4. Wire and Wood
5. Desert Diamond
6. Stripper
7. Painted Lover
8. Lighter Shade of Green
9. Sons and Lovers
10. Skyfire
11. Breaking the Heart of the City
As yet another hair metal / 80s hard rock album among many, the finest accolade these songs can achieve is to be distinctly average, while the worst are merely indistinctly poor, but at least aren't completely awful. Vai gets a brief guitar solo track for the pointlessly titled 'Lighter Shade of Green' that only sees him twiddle around a bit and is a poor competitor to Van Halen's definitive 'Eruption,' and his contributions to the rest of the album are mostly restrained to the point that he might as well be anyone.
The stand-out tracks are fun opener 'God Blessed Video,' a tirade against big-selling sell-out bands recording extravagant music videos which "crotch shots for twelve-year-old hopefuls" that I still can't help feeling is motivated more out of jealousy than anything else, and 'Wire and Wood' that manages to sound sufficiently angry and energetic for a change. The aforementioned 'Stripper' is another cool one, but spoiled by distracting keyboard tinges that are far more prominent in the weaker songs (uncoincidentally), and collapses into a bizarre, unintentional self-parody at the end when Bonnet's heartfelt response to the eponymous stripper's dialogue seems to immediately jump from fear to lust ("take your clothes off, babbay!" God).
The rest of the album falls below the line of good taste (well, further below), and offers nothing that can't be heard elsewhere in forms exactly the same or superior. 'Mercy' is inoffensive aside from the vocals, but too dull and plodding to stand out, and the not-at-all-epic 'Desert Diamond' is even more tedious and repetitive, despite an admirable but failed attempt to create a bombastic chorus by placing high wails against low murmurs. 'Will You Be Home Tonight' threatens to be a power ballad before launching into something equally unadventurous and oozing with bad 80s pop rock keyboards from Jimmy Waldo, and this is also the case for 'Skyfire.' 'Painted Lover' and 'Sons and Lovers' are both fairly standard but uninspired and thus pointless hard rock songs, though the second is pleasant enough in a commercial sort of way, while the finale goes for a strange, National Anthemic style in comparing Britain to the United States. It also features more rubbish keyboards.
Long believed deceased, Alcatrazz has apparently been reincarnated in two conflicting forms by former members this year, creating a legal feud over which group should be permitted to continue this brand of tedious, outdated glam metal that should never have been permitted to exist in the first place. The band was never one of the worst offenders by any means, remaining fairly low profile and promoting some genuine musical talent before each guitarists sodded off in due course, but 'Disturbing the Peace' is a below average release of 80s rock / metal, which disappoints even in terms of the band's attitude. While their contemporaries were being arrested for sexual assault and drug abuse, the most depraved that Alcatrazz could manage was to contemplate the possibility of annoying their neighbours by playing music slightly too loud in the early evening.
Advantages: Something for Steve Vai completists.
Disadvantages: Pointlessly below average hair metal.
Le Secret
Welcome to Fairy Land
****
Written on 16.12.07
Alcest has certainly been one of the most significant and talked-about extreme metal acts of 2007, surprisingly for being so non-extreme. Neige's nostalgic one-man project finally released its first full-length 'Souvenirs d'un autre monde' in August to an overwhelmingly positive response, mainly from those who had downloaded the leak months earlier, completing the transition from a minimalist black metal band with a rubbish demo into a soaring, escapist, optimistic blending of French black metal and British shoegaze that leans significantly towards the latter and is hardly recognisable as metal at all. While it's certainly distinctive, I found the deviation away from Neige's roots a little too extreme for my more extreme tastes, and fortunately this earlier E.P. from 2005 helps to bridge the divide while also highlighting how it could never really work in a sustained way.
Abandoning the band mates from the band's earliest incarnation, Neige handles all vocal and instrumental duties on 'Le Secret' and his work thereafter, and commendably only falls back on samples and extraneous instruments on rare occasions, creating his soundscapes with the traditional guitar, bass, drums and voice. The vocals are an interesting feature, as the first song is entirely sung in a dreamy manner that many have strangely mistaken to be a female guest singer, while the second returns to the screeching black metal growls for one last time before they vanished completely for the subsequent album. The contrast is enjoyable, and makes both songs stand apart even further despite their obvious similarities, the latter generally taking on a more traditional black metal style shifted into major keys and with a large sprinkling of fairy dust.
Alcest's lyrics, all written in French (and in the case of the second song, taken entirely from a poem by Charles Baudelaire), are aimed at evoking the atmosphere and mood of Neige's childhood fantasy realm the "fairy land" to which we are all invited as a temporary escape from harsh Avignon reality, an image that the album's old-style photos of children and samples of chirruping birds and a babbling stream at the start of the recording help to put in place before the music pulls the listener in completely. This idea is nothing new in black metal, though it has always been more customary for hypnotic music like this to have a far more sinister edge, as is the case with Burzum. For extreme metal virgins, it may be hard to reconcile the emotive screams of the second track with an idyllic mood, but you wouldn't be alone; while this is a successful experiment in pushing and merging genres for the most part, this recording makes it clear that one of the styles must go, and that turned out to be the conflicting black metal. Just don't tell the metal guys that.
1. Le Secret
2. Élévation
The title track is the slightly longer of the two at fifteen minutes, but both songs show signs of being edited to the perfect length to make sure listeners are satiated, or perhaps even eager for more, without becoming bored by the repetitiveness of the whole thing. After the nature sounds and a minimalist acoustic introduction to welcome the dawn, the music launches into a distinctly post-rock direction before finding its true calling into overly distorted wall-of-sound in the shoegazing tradition exemplified by My Bloody Valentine, a band Neige claims never to have heard - if he had, this whole thing might have happened a fair few years earlier. The drums seem a little contradictory at first, proceeding to blast along in a slow determination to provide a black metal foundation, but like the ethereal vocals that finally creep in almost half-way into the song, they assimilate into the soundscape once it becomes entrancing and all-encompassing. The song deteriorates for me towards the end, with an unnecessary and distracting shift into a more poppy, indie rock style of drumming and an unsatisfying call-back to the opening acoustics, but this can all be forgiven as a feature of what is essentially a highly experimental E.P. testing new ground.
'Élévation,' based on Baudelaire's poem of the same name, is more of a song for black metal traditionalists, and offers a glimpse (or a little more, at thirteen minutes in length) of the direction Neige could have pursued before deciding to abandon black metal. It's similar to the first song with its fuzzy wall of sound and generally uplifting tone, but everything is shifted into a more distorted black metal world that occasionally contradicts the dreamy woodland atmosphere, particularly in terms of the vocals. The opening keyboard section is long and hypnotic and is a perfect example of how Neige's intentions contrast with Burzum's in similar passages, and once again it takes three minutes for the song to properly get going. The drums are a little harder and faster, the tremolo-picking rhythm guitars roaring away with some really pleasant lead melodies overlaid, and even the eventual arrival of the vocals keeps things running smoothly until Neige decides to mess things around a little and interrupt the delightful flow with an irrelevant and short acoustic section that sticks out like an unwanted comma in a lovely long sentence. The latter half is superior on the whole, with a great guitar solo that I really wish had lasted longer, and the song draws to a close at almost exactly the right time.
'Le Secret' is an insightful glimpse into Neige's attempt to combine the somewhat irreconcilable black metal and shoegazing genres, and the perfect companion piece to the recent album. Released on Drakkar, Neige now has a five album contract with Prophecy Productions that will hopefully see Alcest's style continue to evolve in the coming years rather than fall back on this nostalgic style too often. This E.P. is an interesting experiment, and one that works surprisingly well despite the inherent drawbacks.
Advantages: Innovative merging of black metal and indie shoegazing that works better than expected.
Disadvantages: Lacking in variety, and often self-contradictory.
Organasm
A Colossal Planetary Vulva Consumes
****
Written on 13.12.07
Alchemist are one of the very few prominent metal bands from Australia, and their magnum opus 'Organasm' (do you see what they did there?) seems to be unanimously praised as a more than worthy competitor for the big-selling American progressive metal acts that would easily be as successful as Tool if only they hadn't had the rotten luck to live Down Under, where the music scene is rather embarrassingly bad. While there's certainly truth in that claim, it's a little easy to back them as a unique and mysterious band due to their exotic flavour, when in fact their "distinctive" sound is more or less American in origin.
Fortunately, this album in particular shows the band's penchant for innovation, making effective use of spacey synthesisers, Eastern musical themes and tribal-tinged percussion to tell their thought-provoking tales of cataclysm against a backdrop that others have aptly described as the emptiness, desolation and beauty of the Australian outback. There's even a didgeridoo in the first song, just to keep up appearances, but I wouldn't go classing this as Rolf Metal just yet.
Incorporating synthesisers into their sound adds a certain epic elements to these compositions, something that is aided by the other instruments in the more relevant songs dealing with humanity's self-destructive tendencies, particularly the 'Evolution Trilogy' of tracks two to four. The Alchemist sound is distinctive and easily recognisable, with Adam Agius and Roy Torkington's guitars taking on a distinctly Middle Eastern flavour in many of their lead passages that only rarely veer into clichéd Egyptian territory, and Rodney Holder's excellent drums that incorporate tribal rhythms and variations throughout the recording in a way that never sounds forced, as it does in some Brazilian bands. John Bray's bass guitar is an important instrument that isn't overlooked or shifted into the background like that of most metal bands, even providing the lead riffs and melodies on occasion and enhancing the depth of the sound immensely, and the keyboards provided cooperatively by Bray and Agius (who is also the singer) hark back to the best of seventies space-themed progressive rock without the cheesiness that often comes with the territory.
Agius' vocals are really the only element that doesn't entirely fit and may take some getting used to, often becoming overly hostile in a shouting manner similar to Acid Bath or Fear Factory and then sounding a little hoarse in the calmer sections, but most of the vocal melodies are creative and memorable without veering into distracting pop choruses that would spoil the mood entirely - and if there's one thing this band does well, it's atmosphere. Rooted in a scientific observation of humanity's "evolution" into a warring, tribal species intent on annihilation that's all the more disturbing for its verifiable accuracy, the darker songs on this recording communicate apocalypse with all the crushing, crestfallen intensity of post-rock bands, but are made far more interesting to listen to. Each song takes roughly five minutes to engulf the listener in a soundscape of fear, depression, surreality and science fiction before disgorging them to carry on with their meaningless lives, injected with an unshakeable new sense of insignificance and guilt on behalf of the human race. Or something like that, you get the idea.
1. Austral Spectrum
2. The Bio Approach
3. Rampant Micro Life
4. Warring Tribes - Eventual Demise
5. Single Sided
6. Surreality
7. New Beginning
8. Tide In, Mind Out
9. Eclectic
10. Escape from the Black Hole
The first song is possibly the most effective of the lot, opening with the infamous didgeridoo amidst a variety of natural instruments that are often difficult to distinguish or discern from the atmospheric keyboards. This opener demonstrates all of the band's strengths and signature traits, and winds slowly from pleasant, almost ambient passages to intense guitar-led sections that bear a passing resemblance to Gustav Holst's oft-quoted 'Mars, the Bringer of War.' It's here that the Evolution Trilogy kicks in, taking the listener on an epic fifteen-minute journey across the lifespan of the Earth in a style reminiscent of Ayreon without the glam. These three tracks flow together seamlessly, the only tell-tale indications of change being a resurgence in the lead drums and keyboards that become increasingly prominent as the suite progresses, the latter providing insight into why the band covered Jeff Wayne's 'The Eve of the War' a couple of years previously.
It's an accomplished work on the whole, even if it fades a little towards the end, and sees the album at its most dynamic as well as its most thoughtful and harmonious, even throwing in a David Gilmour style guitar solo for good measure. The only real let-down is Agius' tendency to shout too aggressively, however significant the subject matter may be, and this distraction keeps this a few notches away from perfection. Early points see the singer adopting a soft, gruff style similar to Swedish Viking metal, so it's a shame he didn't flex his vocal range more in these songs as he would in later, less significant songs. The finale 'Warring Tribes - Eventual Demise' also loses out for becoming too contradictory, beginning as an accessible rock song with a catchy riff and proceeding to shift restlessly between time signatures and moods in a manner not entirely relevant to the lyrics.
The album tends to become a bit more predictable and repetitive after this point, making it harder to recall particular favourites. The epic style remains along with the bipolar moods, occasionally to the point that I wished the band had concentrated on making particular songs stand out for being calmer or angrier than the rest rather than mixing them into the same emotive broth each time. 'Single Sided' has some great lead guitars and introduces Agius' ability to really screeeeeeam, which passes over into 'Surreality' in a nice touch of continuity that perhaps provides an insight into the recording process. This song in particular is a little too hostile in a groove metal style for my tastes, and its successor 'New Beginning' is a lot more successful in conveying the same feelings from a more effective musical backdrop, with energy and catchiness that wouldn't be out of place in a rock club (though the synthesiser overload at the end might confuse people in such an environment).
The final section of the album is something of a return to form, 'Tide In, Mind Out' acting as a condensed overview of the album with limited vocals before the less eclectic 'Eclectic' offers up a pure instrumental. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a wasted opportunity, the sort of low-key instrumental that replaces the vocal melodies with some half-hearted guitar leads and keyboards but that could easily have a shouting Aussie overlaid if the band had found the right lyrics. 'Escape from the Black Hole,' again threatening to leap into Ayreon dimensions but remaining grounded in sober reality (it would have been fun), repeats the apocalyptic post-rock-with-interesting-bits style of the first track to less effect, but is notable for Agius' duet with himself in contrasting crooning and yelled styles.
While Alchemist may not have succeeded in inciting an Australian wave of heavy metal, despite their best efforts (particularly in organising Australia's biggest metal festival 'Metal for the Brain' each year), superb albums like 'Organasm' are at least a starting point for the apologies owed by the nation for the Bee Gees, Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton-John, Jason Donovan and Puppetry of the Penis. The album's forebodings of humanity's self-destructive path have unfortunately come a little late to save us now, and may be particularly pertinent when there's a big crack in the ozone layer working its way up from Antarctica to get you.
Advantages: Innovative Australian prog metal.
Disadvantages: Disappointingly repetitive and American.
Captain Morgan's Revenge
Hail to the Power of Ale!
*****
Written on 17.12.07
Having built up a predictable cult following for their self-styled brand of "true Scottish pirate metal" at numerous local gigs and across two impressive E.P.s, Perth's Battleheart changed their name to the more tell-tale Alestorm and recorded their first full-length album on Napalm Records. The notion of mixing speedy, raucous power metal with a pirate concept is nothing new, harking right back to Germany's Running Wild in the late eighties, but it's a particularly intelligent commercial endeavour in a decade that has seen trashy Hollywood blockbuster 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and its ilk capturing the hearts of this generation's lowest common denominator audiences with their superficial take on piracy. Personally, I preferred the 'Monkey Island' games.
What makes Alestorm so impressive is that the band has never allowed the gimmick to overshadow the quality of its music, putting their full energy into Dragonforce-styled power metal, albeit yelling tales of seafaring conquest and trezer huntin' rather than falsetto epics about dragons, and even going the whole hog into authentically recreating the sea shanty for the less serious numbers. Having finally come together as a fully operational unit after a couple of years of vocalist/keyboardist Christopher Bowes and guitarist Gavin Harper playing against a programmed rhythm and bass section, the band compensates for its lack of virtuoso talent with its passionate, nationalistic dedication to spreading the true Scottish pirate metal Word that will inevitably inspire a number of lousy imitations in its devastating wake. With cutthroats Dani Evans and Ian Wilson coming aboard to handle bass and drum responsibilities respectively, the Alestorm vessel is in a fine position to conquer the metal world once this debut is released next month - most likely in a Dragonforce manner that will see them overly hyped and derided in equal measure before making way for the next fad. Young metal fans are so fickle.
As anticipated, the band selects the finest bounty from their earlier E.P. releases (alright, I'll desist with the pirate lingo) and makes these the foundation of this longer work, while surprisingly forsaking the customary instrumental openings in favour of a more consistent metallic approach, something that demonstrates their impressive forward-thinking compared to fading genre superstars such as Rhapsody of Fire and Manowar, whose most recent offerings were atrociously pompous affairs riddled with narrative padding. The pirating concept figures prominently into all of these songs as can be discerned from the titles, but despite going for the obvious themes (maps, battles, wenches, trezer), it never feels like a diluted pantomime version of piracy, and it's clear the band has done its research to add authenticity.
Bowes' vocals take on a distinct piratey persona, growling in a gritty folk style on the slower and mid-range songs but being forced into a more traditional metal style in the faster offerings later in the album, reminiscent of Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, and the lyrics will stay with the listener afterwards just as much as the catchiest guitar moments. Each major song is afforded an extensive instrumental section for solos and such, which is actually something of a mixed bag (of pieces o' eight?): Harper's guitars are pleasant enough in their classic metal approach, but Bowes sticks to his cannons with consistent keyboard solos in the glitzy style of Dragonforce that serve to spoil the historical, nautical mood that the band has somehow achieved through anachronistic rock instruments.
There is a distinctive Alestorm "sound" to be found across this album, despite its commendable diversity, and while rooted in modern power metal it borrows extensively from folk metal in the style of label-mates Týr and the Swedish Viking bands such as Månegarm. While it doesn't take on this style as much as I would perhaps like, this at least allows it to develop independently as a distinct entity, and may one day lead to a gloriously debauched battle between the heavy metal pirates and Vikings, one that the fantasy-themed bands can observe from the safe distance of an overhead dragon and write an epic poem about at a later date. Despite its distracting prominence in the solo sections, Bowes' keyboard is the vital background ingredient of this atmosphere, sweeping in a synthesised symphony over the more eloquent passages but mostly taking on the sound of a nautical accordion that works perfectly against the rock instruments even more successfully than I could have hoped, benefitting from the band's newfound high production values.
1. Over the Seas
2. Captain Morgan's Revenge
3. The Huntmaster
4. Nancy the Tavern Wench
5. Death Before the Mast
6. Terror of the High Seas
7. Set Sail and Conquer
8. Of Treasure
9. Wenches & Mead
10. Flower of Scotland
'Over the Seas' really is the perfect introduction to both the sound and concept, and along with 'The Huntmaster' represents the oldest material here, originating on the first 'Battleheart' E.P., but now with added live bass and drums. With middling speed and a chugging style still rooted in their forebears Running Wild, these two songs betray their early conception compared to the rest, but this makes them more suitable to establish the scene that will later be exploded to new heights. Doubtless some listeners will come to this album purely for the cheap thrill of hearing some pirate songs, and with refrains like "with the power of ale, he could not fail," these songs can satiate and inaugurate the casual listeners before unleashing some true metal fury.
In-between these older offerings is the first brand new song in the form of the title track (the title itself is perhaps an obscure reference to the band's earlier instrumental 'The Curse of Captain Morgan'; the sort of trivial footnote that may find its way into a future Wikipedia entry) and the band's sound shows a noticeable development. The speed ranges from full-pelt thrashing to a steadier jig style once again, and the instrumental prominence in this epic piece makes it comparable to Iron Maiden's own seafaring epic 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner,' only shorter, and shows great use being made of the studio facilities. It's one of the most typically power metal songs on the album and thus one that should be eagerly plundered by Dragonforce fans, something that is sped along by the chorus melody sounding more or less directly lifted from that band's 'Black Winter Night.'
'Nancy the Tavern Wench' is the first of three songs to follow a significantly slower, folk-based style with the metal as a mere support, and one of two songs along with 'Of Treasure' to revive the traditional sea shanty in a thoughtful manner, sounding similar to folk metal deviations such as Týr's memorable take on 'The Wild Rover.' Once again, the band stays true to its creative vision without lapsing into self-parody (they're obviously having a whale of a time playing this stuff, but it isn't just a joke to them), and the lead accordion effect of 'Nancy' is fitting as its take on a female character's "theme." The later 'Of Treasure' (oh, so that's how you spell it) goes even further, based on acoustic guitar and flute and even introducing one of those springy things that are such a staple of Viking metal in the works of Bathory, Månegarm and Moonsorrow. I don't know what it's called, but I have a deep-seated fondness for its daft simplicity (please enlighten me if you know). The only other song to fall into this general style is actually very different, but shares camaraderie for relegating the rock instruments to the background; the closing track is the band's patriotic dedication to their Scottish homeland, the keyboards scoring extra points for producing a regal flair and not resorting to clichéd bagpipes, as the band chants the Corries' 'Flower of Scotland' with pride, before presumably launching into a rugby game on deck after the album closes. This finale is the least impressive song, but works as a fine coda, while the other two work brilliantly to break up the album without the need for (God forbid) ballads. After all, what would be the interest in a sensitive pirate?
The remaining bulk of the album showcases the band at its fiercest and finest, mostly coming from the excellent second E.P. 'Terror on the High Seas' and likely presenting the band's direction for the future, away from the slower narratives that characterised the album's first half. Now that the band has frequented the taverns and indulged in their trezer hunting deals, it's time for some serious conquest and pillaging as the seabound equivalent of Manowar's metal warriors, often spouting comparably ridiculous lyrics. 'Death Before the Mast,' the only other "new" song, is the band's most thrash-based offering, featuring significantly faster verses that Bowes tackles in a manner similar to Megadeth, but the style is perfected in the band's crowning glory, 'Terror of the High Seas' (undergoing a slight alteration from its earlier form, not least in its title). This is currently the band's classic, with their finest guitar riffs and their most dynamic performance recorded to date, perfectly suited to its violent lyrics.
'Set Sail and Conquer' is a little less brilliant, slowing down as the lyrics take on a less riveting self-confidence in the pirates' inevitable victory and thus lack the adventurous spirit of the previous song, metaphorically docking at Port Manowar as Bowes regurgitates that band's clichés of divine providence, the fight until death and the laughter over dying foes. Although it's still a highly enjoyable song, spoiled a little by the pompous lyrics, there comes a surprising turnaround with the instrumental/solo section in the second half that ends up being the most substantial and varied of the album, building on the efforts of the previous two songs and inserting a soft jig section for atmosphere similar to the earlier title track. This is some of the strongest evidence that this band really is a force to be reckoned with, particularly as its relatively fresh musicians are free to hone their talents on future releases.
If the album was capable of serving up even more excitement over this new band, it delivers it wonderfully with the penultimate 'Wenches & Mead'; forebodings of a cop-out comedy song certainly, but the band launches into character as metal pirates to such a degree that there's never any doubt of their sincerity, however ludicrous the lyrics ("Hey, hey, I want more wenches / Lots of wenches is what I need"). As well as going all-out on the debauchery front, this arguably represents the perfection of the synthesis between metal and sea shanty in equal measure, as the lead accordion is as prominent as the guitars and drums.
Alestorm is certainly one of the most exciting metal bands of the moment, and one that shouldn't be unfairly judged as a mere gimmick - there's some work to be done on the technical front, and more trezer and wenches to pillage before they can bottle another recording and send it back to shore with tales of their further exploits, but 'Captain Morgan's Revenge' is an incredibly fun and high quality album of modern heavy metal. Released in the UK on 28th January 2008.
Advantages: Hearty tales of wenches and conquest, performed with vigour and power.
Disadvantages: Still reliant on others' established styles at this stage.
Hate Malice Revenge
***
Written on 27.12.07
First released on Amputated Vein Records before being snapped up by Nuclear Blast (gotta love these extreme metal labels!), the bluntly titled 'Hate.Malice.Revenge' is a strong but significantly flawed debut that savagely impales itself in the foot by corroding its classic death metal foundations with irritating elements of more recent metalcore, leading to the band's fairly logical but still silly pigeonholing of a "deathcore" genre. Rather than incorporating these poisonous elements across the whole, general sound, each song instead shifts clumsily between talented and expressive death metal and noisy, Slipknot-style bashing and yelling, with the latter style thankfully taking up far less space. This inevitable deterioration into simplistic breakdown riffs becomes something to dread as each new song optimistically begins, and serves to spoil what would otherwise be a fine album of traditional death metal, mixing the very best of the Floridian and Swedish pioneers of the early nineties.
The short opening song sets the tone for what can be expected over the following thirty-six minutes: an introductory minute or so of extremely fast, energetic and varied guitar riffs over maniacally blasting drums with some seriously angry vocals, before the band decides to offer something simplistic and slow for the lowest-common-denominator headbanging crowd. 'Laid to Rest' is much better at nearly twice the length, with time for the guitar to really show off with Dismembered-style thrash riffs and Amon Amarth-esque tremolo-picking guitar leads, while Matt Kuykendall's drums remain consistently high quality in all but the offending passages. Even the bass guitar can be discerned prominently when the guitars move into the higher pitches, satisfyingly grounding the sound. Unfortunately, this winning combination (with the exception of the distractingly prominent breakdown section) would be forgotten for the next couple of songs, which at least allows the second half of the album to stand particularly strong.
'Our Own Grave' begins promisingly, taking on a slower approach akin to melodic black metal before returning to the style of the first song and then falling considerably into oafish, sub-Pantera groove metal where the slowed guitars sound more due to lethargy. Even worse is that the entirety of track four follows suit, and the later 'For Far Too Long...' is the last really disappointing song to follow a predominantly nu-metal style, the weakest link between the otherwise great tracks five to eight. 'Sever the Memory' is based largely on the same tremolo-picking lead guitars that worked well earlier in the album, and 'Never Ending War' gradually works its way loose of the metalcore bonds it begins with, to once again take its cues from Dismember - this makes it particularly pleasing for me, as they have long been one of my favourite death bands.
It's a shame that the album's most inherently stand-out moment is the angry yelling of its title in the middle of this song, but I remember it more fondly for its incorporation of thrash and epic elements towards the conclusion. The real finale itself is similarly impressive and takes no prisoners (it's all too easy to slip into thrash metal clichés when reviewing a high-octane album like this); the drums and guitars roaring with increased ferocity and throwing out some great riffs, while the vocals shift deeper and become double-tracked just in case you weren't feeling it yet.
All Shall Perish have released a further album since signing to Nuclear Blast, and I can only hope that their deathcore sound has advanced into a more appropriately symbiotic relationship. 'Hate.Malice.Revenge' has nothing of the groundbreaking album about it, but it works well as a tribute to the thrash-influenced early death metal acts, particularly the Swedish. It's just a shame they let in all that Dixieland riff-raff.
1. Deconstruction
2. Laid to Rest
3. Our Own Grave
4. The Spreading Disease
5. Sever the Memory
6. For Far Too Long...
7. Never Ending War
8. Herding the Brainwashed
The Fall of Ideals
***
Written on 11.01.08
All That Remains is a band from Boston that specialises in just about the most irritating and widespread metal trend of the last few years, but thankfully does it better, and less irritatingly than just about anyone else. While their music is still plagued with cringe-inducing metalcore elements (mindless double bass drumming, lazy guitar harmonies and angry hardcore shouting balanced out by squeaky boy band unpleasantness), the sound is still grounded in the melodic death metal style of the nineties Gothenburg bands whose works are still brilliant in isolation, but have left a reluctantly foul legacy.
'The Fall of Ideals' is their most recent album, and once I was able to get past my prejudices, I discovered it to be a fairly good one. You know, if you're into that sort of thing. Ex-Shadows Fall frontman Philip Labonte's impressive vocal range is undoubtedly the album's selling point, and the rest of the band members essentially provide the style shifts that allow him to fully demonstrate his abilities, from the usual mix of Soilwork-style yelling and really irritating metalcore singing (not heavy metal singing; this owes far more to something like the Backstreet Boys) and even an attempt at Demilich-style deep growls in 'The Weak Willed' that he can't really achieve, but at least helps to make that particular song the highlight of the album.
While there's some degree of variation between songs, the style is more or less a loud, fairly fast and energised metal affair with disappointingly weak guitars I hardly noticed at all until they threw out a short, simplistic solo, and drumming that over-uses the bass pedals and launches into breakdown passages with tedious regularity. There's a distinct lack of entertaining or creative guitar riffs that really ought to be expected from the melodic death metal genre that this band clings to so tenuously, and despite enduring a less uncomfortable forty minutes that I at first feared, the memory of Labonte's vocals, while not necessarily being to my preference, were ultimately all that remained (do you see what I did there?)
To my grumpy, world-weary ears, the sections of this album that feature pop vocals over a weak, quiet guitar and inappropriately hammering bass drums serve as the perfect example of why metalcore doesn't work. It's ridiculously bipolar, but that undoubtedly works as part of its charm in attracting young American emo fans who fancy themselves as depressed schizophrenics. At least with albums like this, the kidz (do you see what I did there? I changed an s to a z to show that I'm with it) have a fair inauguration into death metal that I can only hope will send them down to dark path into a new world of musical delights, but will probably only end up turning them into death metal snobs who rate bands according to their measurement on the Richter scale. This album lies in an interesting position between melodic death and metalcore, but is thankfully still metal to the core. Do you see what I did there?
1. This Calling
2. Not Alone
3. It Dwells in Me
4. We Stand
5. Whispers (I Hear You)
6. The Weak Willed
7. Six
8. Become the Catalyst
9. The Air That I Breathe
10. Empty Inside
11. Indictment
Hymn Till Hangagud
****
Written on 11.01.08
Evolving from a more straightforward death metal band in the late eighties, Sweden's Allegiance followed a string of improving demo releases with this excellent work of epic black metal. Borrowing heavily from the Viking metal style pioneered by Bathory's legendary 'Blood Fire Death' and 'Hammerheart' albums, this is a significantly heavier and more aggressive take on the folk-inspired Viking style being pursued at the time by Moonsorrow, Månegarm and others, dealing with more appropriately violent themes than those bands' more wide-ranging overview of Viking culture and history. While this will make it easier to digest for traditional black metal fans, thanks in no small part to the presence of brutal Marduk drummer Fredrik Andersson, it does tend to lack the unparalleled atmosphere of the other genre.
The Viking elements are most prominent in the acoustic intro and outro tracks, and calmer passages intersecting the rest, which include some clean chanting and even the tell-tale sampling of war horses. Aside from that, this is black metal in the traditional style, again a little reminiscent of Bathory (earlier career) in its gritty riffs of Pär Thornell and "Bogge" Svensson, increasing in intensity culminating in the violent 'The Third Raven,' before the fourth track deliberately slows things down a little to avoid the increasingly tense and difficult game of black metal one-upmanship. The longer opening song and 'The March of Warlike Damned' are perhaps the album's finest works, using their extended lengths to great effect while some of the shorter songs fail to distinguish themselves.
Spurred on by Andersson's relentless drums this is exciting, full-pelt black metal with a twist. Unfortunately, it's a twist that Viking metal fans are already over-familiar with, and it seems a little lacking and basic in its sampling here. The select use of English lyrics in two songs is a little jarring and confusing, and ultimately more unsatisfying than if the band had held firmly to its authentic Scandinavian heritage as their ancient Viking brothers did. But then again, you don't see much of them any more.
1. Hofdingadrapa
2. De nordiska lagren
3. The Third Raven
4. Himmelen romnar
5. Den kristnes dod
6. The March of Warlike Damned
7. Stridsfard
8. Spjutsongen
The Battle
Where Are My Goddamned Fighting Dinosaurs?
**
Written on 12.01.08
Call me Mr. Picky, but if an album's artwork promises a violent encounter between fantastical riders on a mammoth and a ceratopsid with lances at the ready, I'm going to be a little disappointed when 'Another Battle' turns out to be a bland lament about a relationship breakdown. It's clear that this entire project, engineered and written entirely by Magnus Karlsson (who plays all the instruments aside from the drums), is merely a vehicle to combine two of the most sensational vocalists in the heavy metal world. Apparently.
Unfortunately, 'The Battle' between Symphony X's Russell Allen and Masterplan's Jørn Lande is something the listener will spend the entire album awaiting to no avail, assuming that unlike me, their interest didn't wane increasingly with each tedious offering before the whole thing became a serious chore to get through. The two singers possess a sufficiently different range for this to work, on the six songs that they are actually pitted against each other (in an amicable, supportive arrangement, of course), but Lande's higher notes unfortunately lead to that singer being far more prominent in the album's very worst offerings, leading to the superior hard rock stylings of Allen being overshadowed. Symphony X are one of the foremost bands of progressive metal, combining neoclassical guitar and keyboard flourishes with an American thrash style that has produced some of my favourite albums of all time. Masterplan are power metal or something, apparently, but I haven't heard of them. With their powers combined, what on Earth will be the result?
An incredibly weak melodic rock album is the answer. Barely clinging on to its supposed metal roots with a few nice guitar solos and riffs recycled from Queensrÿche, I can't imagine a two-disc collection of 'The Weakest Hair Metal Power Ballads of the 80s... Ever!' sounding less effeminate than this. There's nothing wrong with not being metal of course (well, there is really, but let's pretend I have a reasonable world view), but this album is clearly targeted at the metal crowd with its prominent frontmen. If Karlsson wants to make an album of easily digestible light rock anthems, he could at least have the decency to admit it, without raising unrealistic hopes for some heavy metal about battles. Both singers adapt a significantly more pop-oriented style perfectly suited to these melodic songs, mostly based on mediocre hard rock guitar riffs but occasionally and horribly on piano, but it's Allen who retains the most dignity. He's already explored a pop vocal direction in some of Symphony X's past songs (the boy band chorus of 'Out of the Ashes' and the weird refrain of 'Wicked' spring to mind), and although he has to contend with some awful lyrics here, he's at least spared the ballads.
'Reach a Little Longer' is the most significantly vomit-inducing five minutes of this tedious hour, and Lande makes it much worse by really getting into it, making silly hum sounds and pretending to ad-lib/scat over the final guitar solo. I'm sure it wouldn't offend most casual listeners quite as much, as the whole idea of an album based entirely around the singer is something you don't really get in metal: even the side projects of prominent vocalists tend to be as heavy and band-oriented as their customary outfits (things like Bruce Dickinson, Halford and Dio). Not all of the album is terrible, and there are some parts that are saved by pleasant lead guitar melodies (such as 'Wish for a Miracle' and 'Truth About Our Time') before these too become overly repetitive, while 'My Own Way Home' stood out as being the most successful meeting of all the instruments. The rest of the album is an incredibly dull, pop rock affair that I'd be embarrassed if caught listening to (I had to turn it down in case my flatmates thought I was normal or something), spoiled further by some really bad lyrics about boring stuff like love and the world rather than prehistoric monsters fighting, that's what I like. The worst thing is, they did it all again...
1. Another Battle
2. Hunter's Night
3. Wish for a Miracle
4. Reach a Little Longer
5. Come Alive
6. Truth About Our Time
7. My Own Way Home
8. Ask You Anyway
9. Silent Rage
10. Where Have the Angels Gone
11. Universe of Light
12. The Forgotten Ones
Weapon of Ascension
***
Written on 12.01.08
'Weapon of Ascension' is the first and, it seems, last album from Canadian death/black metal band Allfather. Combining the most brutal and violent elements of both metal styles with suitably war-torn lyrics, these eleven short songs - all lasting less than the tedious and unreasonable length of three minutes - make for one of the most relentless and aurally offensive albums I own, but in a good way. This is certainly not an album for all people, tastes or times.
The band plays violent death-influenced black metal in the style of Behemoth or the slightly more local Angelcorpse (evidently, America and Canada are the same place in my world view), based entirely around the core instruments without excessive or atmospheric elements from keyboards. Paul Jacobson's blasting drums are the key feature in setting the exhaustive pace and hammering into the listener's head, but the other instruments compensate for this repetition by introducing some really quite interesting and talented deviations, though still confined within fairly narrow musical horizons. Justin Hagberg handles all the guitars on this recording, predominantly running at the same breakneck pace as the drums but frequently slowing or ranging between riffs, but this still isn't something that's going to appeal to casual listeners, even fans of similarly extreme metal genres. Adam Angus' bass is similarly talented and can be heard clearly in the impressive production, and although the vocals lack distinctiveness in sounding exactly the same as all the other aggressive black metal bands, it's a tried and tested formula.
With songs frequently coming in under two minutes long, this isn't the sort of album that engenders specific favourites, but is rather a directed aural assault - I'm damned if I could recall a specific song by name, but then most people who listen to this are likely to be damned anyway. The short length of under thirty minutes seems a little thrifty from a purely quantitative point of view, but it keeps the album tight and focused without any extraneous filler that would have lessened its impact, though in all honesty I doubt I would have been able to discern half-hearted additions from some of the less impressive offerings (perhaps they already did that, and the original album was only fifteen minutes?)
Fans of extreme metal of the most extreme sort should check out these angry Canadians, but for the rest of you, this is unapologetically impenetrable. The lyrics are similarly not going to attract any weak-hearted fans, though they're a little more meaningful and lucid for coming from natural English speakers for a change, even of they are Canadians. I don't have enough anger in my heart to fully appreciate this album, seriously damaging my metalhead credentials, but I'd still be interested in a reform in the future.
1. Evolution to Supremacy
2. Forever Unconquerable
3. Flight into Exile
4. Hail! Tyrants of War
5. Storm Assault
6. Through Ages Wrought
7. Invictus
8. Of Man and Valour
9. Blood and Soil
10. In the Face of Nobility
11. Progeny of Vengeance
12. Path of Glory
Drifted into Deeper Lands
***
Written on 12.01.08
Like many electronic artists, Gregory Kyryluk produces work under a variety of aliases, presumably to signify contrasting musical approaches. If this is the case, then Alpha Wave Movement is surely his chief outlet for composing relaxing ambient mood music, though a certain restless flair keeps the recording interesting and creative enough to avoid being a mere "sounds of the ocean" throwaway. All the same, it's music confined to a particular mood, and is a difficult album to rate.
Praised by its small fan following as a genius work of space rock (a term that seems to apply to anything featuring faux-symphonic keyboards), this has more in common with ambient works than the electronic music pioneered by artists such as Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre in the seventies, though there are similarities to these composers' more atmospheric works. The closest comparison in my own collection is Tangerine Dream's escapist classic 'Phaedra,' and despite coming much further down the chronology of electronic music, this album is so rooted in the ambient style that it could easily have been released in the early seventies.
The album's title is perfectly revealing of its sound, as all six tracks are aimed at carrying the listener off to a relaxing realm far from the concerns of daily life. Kyryluk could probably get away with holding the same pleasing keyboard note for fifty-six minutes and still achieve this aim, but fortunately his artistic drive leads him to experiment somewhat dangerously with additions and distractions. In truth, these additional touches are nothing particularly inventive and are restricted to the usual instruments that come with the territory: the synthesisers themselves are primarily rooted in soft, sweeping orchestration, but take on a slightly more pressing and dark edge in 'Awakening the Sand Spirits' before 'Suspended in the Hanging Gardens' offers up almost Jarresque beeps and boops (yeah alright, I don't own a keyboard and I'm not overly familiar with the jargon). Other sounds include softly rattling wind chimes, softly clunking bottles and softly tapping percussion across various songs, though it would be difficult (and inappropriate) to single out each of the six compositions individually.
The first song is a rather long-winded fourteen minutes in length before the others offer up a more approachable seven to nine minutes each, but despite a tendency towards white noise, the opening titular piece succeeds at setting the soothing mood before Kyryluk gradually sneaks in the "real music." I can see how this album would be of interest to die-hard fans of electronic prog, but it's difficult for casual listeners to appreciate as anything other than dull and pleasant chill-out music to play when you don't really feel like listening to something you might actually like. My listening experience on a computer was actually rather irritating due to a subtle but distracting whine in the first track that obviously became the prominent sound once my ears noticed they could hear it, but this was probably - hopefully - an issue with my rubbish speakers rather than the album itself. 'Drifted into Deeper Lands' will help you to chill out in the afternoon, but make sure not to pay too much attention or you will become bored and irritable.
1. Drifted into Deeper Lands
2. Silent Promise
3. Awakening the Sand Spirits
4. That Which Remains
5. Another Time... Another Place
6. Suspended in the Hanging Gardens
The Mountain Queen
**
Written on 12.01.08
Influenced by various styles of early progressive rock, Holland's Alquin contributed their own disputed classic with 'Mountain Queen' in 1973. Mostly comprised of lengthy instrumental jams, the album is at its best when combining the seemingly irreconcilable elements of loose jazz improvisation and catchy rock melodies in a manner that surprisingly works, and the song lengths reflect this theme of extremes in their wildly varying lengths: two are around fifteen minutes long, and the rest lie somewhere between fifty-five seconds and eight minutes.
Although its contradictorily ambitious and tedious natures undermine its acceptance as one of the legends of prog, 'Mountain Queen' is a notable improvement over Alquin's previous album, showcasing a tighter focus within the group and making successful, extensive use of supporting instruments, particularly in the lengthy saxophone and flute passages. Comparisons to the pastoral sound of England's Camel and Caravan are particularly relevant when the flute comes into play as in the penultimate song, but the core sound is rooted firmly in loud, guitar and organ-led rock.
The album stakes its reputation on the two songs that consume the vast majority of its playing time, 'The Dance' and 'Mountain Queen' that open each side of the original vinyl and are followed by much shorter pieces for those listeners in a hurry. Neither of these long songs could accurately be described as epics, opting as they do for upbeat, catchy jam sessions with occasional sung verses, but when the anticipated changes come they succeed in adding a certain extra element to the sound that keeps it above mere improv. The songs alternately remind me of songs by Yes, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Camel and, particularly in the finale to the first song, Van der Graaf Generator, but never reaches the same level of excellence displayed by most of those bands in their finest moments (however unpopular some of them may be). The main problem with these long pieces is that they are just too long, running out of interesting ideas and failing to maintain interest as elements are repeated ad nauseam with only some pleasant atmospheric sections to help break it up.
Atmosphere is the key to the success of some of the shorter songs, though these often fail for merely not being interesting enough, or in the case of some of the ridiculously short pieces like the finale, too short to be of any point (in complete contrast to the problem with the earlier songs). 'Soft-Eyed Woman' evokes the image (to me, at least) of the same tranquil beach at sunset that some of Pink Floyd's works of the same era transport me to, with a bumbling bass and softly clacking drums replacing the harder rock of the long songs, while the less impressive 'Convicts of the Air' strangely relocates the action to a cruise down the road in an early seventies TV show (again, we're primarily dealing with my freaky mind). 'Mr. Barnum Jr's Magnificent and Fabulous City' returns to the free-form style of the long songs, varying its tempo and incorporating electric violin along with the return of saxophone and flutes that the regular instruments seem to swing around, and the final track continues this for a bit without causing much of a stir. They didn't even write this particular song.
There are a number of old-timers still clinging firmly to their belief that this is an underappreciated classic of early seventies prog, but I've heard many albums that are far more entertaining, rewarding and technically accomplished, though to its credit the album combines all three areas to a certain degree of success. As far as prog legends of the year 1973 go, it lacks the jamming intensity of 'Larks' Tongues in Aspic,' the poetry of 'Selling England by the Pound' and the majesty of 'Dark Side of the Moon,' but it's some significant distance ahead of 'Tubular Bells' and 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII.' It also offers the Dutch a credible prog band to hold on to when they get fed up of Focus.
1. The Dance
2. Soft-Eyed Woman
3. Convicts of the Air
4. Mountain Queen
5. Mr. Barnum Jr's Magnificent and Fabulous City
6. Don and Dewey Theme (Don Bowman)
Divinity
****
Written on 12.01.08
Finland once again proves its peculiar talent for producing accessible rock music mixing elements of metal with romance-obsessed pop that, from any other country, would seem like a ludicrous throwback. Here, it hardly does at all. Lying in an interesting position between the goth-pop-hard-rock-glam-crap of HIM and the more consistently metallic Sonata Arctica, the driving force of Sonata's Jani Liimatainen on guitars and keyboards prevents this from ever being dismissed as a throwaway HIM clone, however hard Taage Laiho tries to convince us otherwise.
Laiho's vocals mainly lie in the middle range designed to make young goth girls cry-clean their mascara, and it's easy to visualise publicity shots or a stage persona designed to convince that he's a shy and tortured man, but one in touch with his feminine side and not above making out with his male band members if it shifts a few more albums. I have no evidence to back up these horrendous insinuations, but that's alright because I'm mainly just joking (or am I?) Needless to say, the vocals aren't my particular cup of tea (neither is tea), but they are performed with impressive skill and some small degree of range; I personally enjoyed the silly high notes of 'Divine.' It's the vocal melodies and choruses repeated ad nauseam that these songs will be most remembered for, and many of them are really good - 'Darkened Highlight' particularly, which is also one of the most impressive songs on the instrumental front.
This is pop power metal of the highest order, and it's all down to Liimatainen, whose recent departure from Sonata Arctica will surely see that band fall even further into a slump. His keyboards are light, polished and sparkling, but are only made prominent on a few occasions when it benefits the song (most notably in 'Stain on the Switchblade,' the most metal offering here), rather than in a jarring eighties rock style that this could easily have lapsed into. The keyboards are primarily used to create the excellent background atmosphere, and although Liimatainen's guitars are less noticeable and impressive than his more metal-oriented performances in Sonata, the tone remains suitably crunchy and powerful and the occasional lead melodies are all enjoyable, if a bit lacking in substance.
This album is mainly let down through its lack of significant variety, each song sounding much the same as the last apart from a few diversions that often end up significantly worse, especially in the case of the plodding 'Haven.' The lyrics are the worst kind of romantic blah that comes with the territory ("I'll be your night and you're my shining star," and so on), but they're obviously going to work well on the intended audience. The Accept cover at the end is revealing of the band's obvious influences in 80s hard rock, but fortunately this album shows that the genre of romantic pop power metal, however laughable and a little embarrassing for a twenty-two-year-old male to be listening to (songs about a triceratops fighting a mammoth are what I like, if you remember), still had some life in it back in 2004.
The band has more or less completely changed since, with only the distinctly unmemorable rhythm section remaining and the bloke from epic power band Celesty leading the guitars, so it could still work out. I hope at the very least that HIM fans check out bands like these and start to move in a metal direction.
1. Prophet of Pestilence
2. Unchain the Rain
3. Darkened Highlight
4. Enemy
5. Falling Again
6. Divine
7. Haven
8. Try to Remember
9. Stain on the Switchblade
10. Discovery
11. Will to Live
12. Final Warning
13. Balls to the Wall (Accept cover)
Intorno alla mia Cattiva Educazione
****
Written on 12.01.08
Released in 1974, this fantastic piece of work remains sadly the only legacy of Italy's most interesting prog rock bands. Paying equal dues to the contemporary worlds of rock, folk and jazz, in tandem as often as separately, it strikes me most as an Italian equivalent of Camel's slightly rubbish instrumental classic 'The Snow Goose' (though that was released the following year), replacing the Celtic pastoral atmosphere with one more fitting to the Mediterranean, and serving up a veritable opera flowing seamlessly through numerous movements, a.k.a. tracks.
Alusa Fallax combines the customary rock instruments - guitar, bass, drums, voice - with various intriguing keyboards common to the time, adding a vital additional layer of flute and saxophone. The musical style and tone changes frequently throughout this album, with contrasting sung verses launching immediately into jazz sections or folk passages, and this keeps it fascinating from its humble beginnings right up to its celebratory finale, even if, like me and all other non-Italian-speakers, you don't have a clue what's actually supposed to be going on (though I think I heard "bastardo" at some point, and I'm pretty sure what that means. I think he rhymed it with "retardo," but that was most likely my imagination). Duty Cirla has an interesting range, moving from a gruff, slightly hoarse approach in the early songs to a more typical grand Italian crooning style later on that's brilliantly reminiscent of opera even if it doesn't try to dominate the speakers in the same way. There's even a deep spoken word section in the middle of the album, when the instruments abandon the singer in a howling wind all alone... that's the main section of the album I'm most curious to understand.
Surprisingly for a prog album, Guido Gabet's guitar is mainly used as a background instrument, the lead responsibilities being handled by Massimino Paretti's keyboard in its various guises, from electric piano to a Pink Floydian space tone and one particularly distinctive and odd style that's returned to on a few occasions, that I can best describe as an alien farting melodiously. These keyboard eccentricities are the only area that serve to date this album, which otherwise escapes any allegations of corniness that could so justifiably levelled against similar releases of the day (referring back to 'The Snow Goose' once again, which in places sounds on par with the tedious video game music of 'Lemmings'), and the prominence of nostalgic folk lends these compositions - alternatively, this one, extended composition - the same atmosphere and effects it generated over thirty years ago.
The overall sound is modestly grand and even somewhat classical, and there's a distinct (yet still subtle) shift after the half-way point that sees Mario Cirla trade his flute for a saxophone, previously only used in small, atmospheric doses, and let rip with some excellent jazz sections that are nevertheless still restrained and logical enough to fit the album's mood. It's a less harsh contrast than the shift from songs one to two on King Crimson's debut album, for example, another classic work that may have helped pave the way for this lesser gem. The drums are ceaselessly experimental and mostly come into play in the more jam-based pieces, clearly due in no small measure to the fact that the singer also bears that responsibility, and while the guitars are less prominent than they would be for most bands, the last song in particular ends with a fine solo, and in the earlier songs there's some pleasant shifting between soft electric melodies, again in the Pink Floyd style, and more authentically Italian acoustics that provide another vital ingredient for this album's excellent atmosphere.
It's a shame that Alusa Fallax ended here, though the band would likely have faced difficulties with the increasing move away from folk-based prog towards the incorporation of electronic elements in that mostly terrible decade that was to follow (terrible for prog at least; there was some damn fine heavy metal and some kick-ass cartoons). Anyone who enjoyed Camel's instrumental work should check this out to see how it really should have been done, but casual listeners should have an easy job avoiding it.
1. Soliloquio
2. Non Fatemi Caso
3. Intorno Alla Mia Cattiva Educazione
4. Fuori di me,Dentro di me
5. Riflessioni Al Tramonto
6. Il Peso Delle Tradizioni
7. Carta Carbone
8. Perchè Ho Venduto Il Mio Sangue
9. Per Iniziare Una Vita
10. E' Oggi
11. E' Così Poco Quel Che Conosco
12. Ciò Che Nasce Con Me
13. Splendida sensazione
Pristine in Bondage
****
Written on 13.01.08
Girl-fronted metal bands have been a pretty big thing since bands such as Nightwish, Lacuna Coil and Arch Enemy broke into the metal mainstream with their radically different takes on the idea. With the flouting of frontwomen as the latest metal gimmick (proving successful with those female metal fans who only choose to listen to bands with women singers, regardless of the style - that's just silly), it's refreshing to find a band that has a woman singer more or less arbitrarily, using a natural singing voice against unembellished, pure metal backdrop of guitars and drums, without the need to draft in an ensemble choir and orchestra, or to pretend you've done so with a flash keyboard.
Perhaps in a deliberate gesture to prove bigoted metal fans wrong, though more likely just because it's what they wanted to play, the style developed by guitarists Ronnie Backlund and Kari Kainulainen is a particularly heavy brand of power metal that more or less crosses over into melodic death metal for the most part. Although a couple of songs take a distinctly more pessimistic and slow approach, the majority are mid-speed affairs with heavy guitars enhanced by Robin Bergh's powerful drums, mostly sticking to reliable, if dull, double bass pedal hammering. This is all more than enough to balance out the higher range of Johanna DePierre's vocals and the frequent melodic guitar sections (during which Mikael Anderson's bass is promoted to the foreground in retaining the lower end of the production), but in truth neither the lead guitars nor DePierre's vocals are as distractingly high as much (male-fronted) power metal tends to be on occasion. The production quality is excellent, not discriminating against any instrument or range and bearing a polished finish that enhances rather than weakens the force of the instruments.
Even with riffs hard enough to satisfy metal fans who demand a degree of heaviness, there are many who would find the female vocals an impassable obstacle, but DePierre's casual performance is really no different from a guy singing. Except that it's a woman, with a woman's voice. She doesn't try for an operatic approach, thank god, and while I was a little disappointed at the lapse into so-called "Beauty and the Beast" vocals in 'Katharsis' (the female's lighter touch being pitted against death metal growls from a bloke), the gimmick is thankfully restricted to that song, particularly as whoever's handling the burping growl isn't particularly effective.
'Wrath' is just about the lightest offering here, and even that isn't by a long way, there's just a greater degree of narrative vocals and prominent guitar leads in place of riffs, and if the album has a central flaw it's only that the instruments can occasionally seem merely like an uninspired vehicle to showcase the distinctive, "unusual" vocals, rather than treating them as a happenstance. Still, it's refreshing to hear a female-fronted band that doesn't treat the singer as a different species, instructing them to sing opera or dance around and the like, and we should be thankful that DePierre didn't go the Arch Enemy direction and growl along to the guitars like a wounded lioness.
1. Atropine
2. Revolution Without Arms
3. Coming Home
4. Inflict
5. Without Stains
6. Katharsis
7. 24 Pills
8. Wrath
9. Crow Me
10. Primal Nature
Monolith
Have You Had Your Amebix?
****
Written on 13.01.08
'Monolith' is a pretty cool album of classic punk-metal, bridging the gap between the metal genres of the eighties and early nineties in a very dark and interesting way. The sound is rooted in the dark side of NWOBHM (the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, as it is still oddly referred today), drawing on the likes of Motörhead, Saxon and early Iron Maiden and fortunately proceeding along the wicked path to a style that would ultimately be labelled death metal with a lot more intensity and credibility than the often laughable Venom. The punk influence isn't anywhere near as prominent as on their previous album.
Death metal was in its earliest form in the late eighties, expanding on the extreme edge of thrash bands such as Slayer, and Amebix share a few similarities with the style in the rasping vocals of the Baron Rockin Von Aphid (perhaps not his real name) (in fact, his real name is Rob Miller), as well as the tuning down of instruments and the overall sinister depressive atmosphere, not to mention the fantastic horror artwork and silly band font, but this is a far cry from Death's 'Scream Bloody Gore.' From the incredibly atmospheric doom metal opening to the speedy thrashing of the first song and the gloomy, melodic elegy of 'Last Will and Testament,' this is an album that encapsulates most of what was great about the evil side of eighties metal, right down to the tomb-like production values.
All the instruments are used to their full potential here, as the band favours mood over speed. Stig da Pig's guitar is excellent (real name Chris Miller), perhaps a little understated for listeners spoiled by modern production values but really fitting this album perfectly and still surprisingly damned heavy, the same going for Arachno Blaster's drums (real name Spider, again perhaps not his real name) that avoid the boring full-pelt blast beats and relentless bass pedal hammering of much modern metal. The Baron's vocals range from a proto-death grunt to a raspy singing style similar to Chris Boltendahl of Grave Digger, and even the bass (also handled by Baron Miller) receives significant attention when the guitar takes on a more melodic, faux-acoustic tone in 'Last Will and Testament' and the introduction to 'Fallen from Grace,' clunking eerily along as if it's crawling over your very grave, or something like that.
For all of its tendencies towards the depraved side of metal, this album still owes a large debt to the NWOBHM (mention location internationally), borrowing its atmospheric take on melodic songs rather than opting for the more disastrous and cringe-inducing power ballads being churned out by American mainstream rock groups at the time, and even the finale 'Coming Home' sounds like something Saxon would have done in their more energetic days at the start of the decade. Amebix is a band that's easily overlooked or easily loathed through their gritty blending of genres, though often cited as an influence on industrial types like Godflesh. This album is an excellent, elegiac epilogue to the decade's eviler edge.
1. Monolith
2. Nobody's Driving
3. The Power Remains
4. Time Bomb
5. Last Will and Testament
6. ICBM
7. Chain Reaction
8. Fallen from Grace
9. Coming Home
Death Before Musick
***
Written on 13.01.08
Following the success of 'We Have Come for Your Parents,' an album that happily coincided with the "nu-metal" boom at the beginning of the decade, L.A.'s hardcore punks Amen enjoyed a period of inevitable but slow decline here in the UK, oddly the nation in which their angry, riff-based brand of punk rock enjoyed particular popularity, regularly seeing Amen cited as "best band in the world... ever!" and other such nonsense by a fickle fan base of young punks and goths who would be repeatedly bowled over by pretty much every other trend flown in from America over the next few years that was bigged-up by their 'Kerrang!' magazines (I stopped paying attention when all that rap-metal stuff became the bouquet of choice, and it was clear that no one had any idea about anything). Fortunately, with their clear anti-establishment attitude, there was never a chance that Amen would be engulfed by their popularity and sell out as many of their contemporaries would do, and 'Death Before Musick' is the best album they've released.
With fifteen songs over forty minutes, this is another smorgasbord of short and concise punk delights, but executed with technical skill. The guitars are mostly simplistic ('Oblivion Stereo' even starts out sounding like a Sex Pistols track), but this is evidently through choice rather than inability to play, as there are numerous pleasant lead guitar sections where a less constrictive album would include frivolous solos. Casey Chaos' vocals are a definite highlight, ranging from fierce yells that come off sounding more convincing than most hardcore bands to a more standard tone with catchy and easily memorable choruses, 'EXTERMINATE!' ironically being a highlight of the album's less intense side. Part of Amen's popularity is undoubtedly their skilful mix of hardcore, punk and metal elements, leading to a fierce and heavy result that nevertheless remains accessible as all the best punk bands are.
With this album in particular, after some experiments with darker songs on its predecessor, the band experiments successfully with a stoner rock direction similar to Monster Magnet and Acid Bath (Chaos' vocals being reminiscent of Dax Riggs at times), adding an additional crossover interest for fans of sludge/stoner/drone/doom/swamp/whatever other meaningless, unhelpful term you want to come up with rock/metal, led by a lazily riffing hard rock guitar. The subject matter may be fairly predictable in their criticism of various debauched cities, the mainstream music industry and politics among other targets, but Chaos' lyrics are at times unusual enough to stand out and at least catch your attention (such as the repeating chorus "bring me the head of Roman Polanski , bring me the legs of Fred Astaire"), and even if you aren't generally a punk fan you may still be pleasantly surprised.
My only real problem with the band is a more personal criticism of Mr. Chaos himself (perhaps not his real name), who may be largely responsible for all those ridiculous emo-core singers slashing themselves on stage to the cheers of impressionable young morons who should be listening to some proper punk instead, where the only slashing is done in an arc over their adoring heads.
1. Liberation for...
2. Hello (One Chord Lovers)
3. California's Bleeding
4. The Abolishment of Luxury
5. Money Infection
6. Westwood Fallout
7. Oblivion Stereo
8. Please Kill Me
9. EXTERMINATE!
10. We Got the Bait
11. Neutron Liars
12. Sorry, Not Sorry
13. Bring Me the Heads
14. Fuck in L.A.
15. The Summer of Guns
Occasus
****
Written on 13.01.08
Australian industrial death metal band the Amenta were hailed as the best newcomers of 2004 by 'Kerrang!' magazine in a rare display of good taste, though this highly processed, detached, almost mechanised approach to heaviness has always deterred me in bands that tend to attract the "industrial" adjective. Despite their indisputable heavy sound, the Amenta still possess enough mainstream credibility in their modern death metal to sell more albums than those who stick more rigidly to the traditional genres, and although they incorporate some elements of black metal, in certain songs more than others, it's always the more approachable aspects of the extreme genres.
Perhaps adding to their popular intrigue, the band members adopt the practice of anonymity more associated with cacophonous "nu-metal" groups like Slipknot and Mudvayne, and the focus on image is another thing that deters me a little. Some of these songs possess flashes of brilliance, but for the most part it's a repackaged and over-processed version of many albums that have come before in the last decade. Cessium 137 articulates the band's conceptual lyrics in a standard death growl that thankfully avoids the over-exuberant yelling of hardcore-influenced metal bands and also helps to distance this from the black metal genre it occasionally overlaps by not being a screech, yet he is the only really human element. The relentless drums set a distinctly mechanical atmosphere, like a heavier Fear Factory in their early days, and the guitars only escape the restrictions of repeated fast riffs when given the opportunity for some lead work, beginning prominently in track two and culminating in track five, which unleashes numerous heavy riffs against a backdrop of epic keyboards and resembles the better moments of Nile.
After this point, the album starts to embrace black metal more fully in tracks six and seven, both of which feature great treble-heavy screeching black metal lead guitars and eerie backing keyboards, even leading to a less processed and more natural sound for the ensemble band that was unfortunately lacking in some of the earliest offerings. 'Geilt' is heaven from tremolo-picking guitar lead fans (or hell, depending on how seriously you get into metal politics), while 'Sekem' surprises with a softer chorus. The almost constant hammering is finally offered a respite with the title song, a simple yet overlong and slightly tedious electronic ambient interlude that carries on directly from where its earlier counterpart 'Senium' left off, and the final two songs return to the older death metal style, the finale in particular seeking to go out with heaviness overload by seriously overdoing the blast beats of the percussion in a way that doesn't really convince, and in all fairness ends up sounding as if the CD's skipping (the same as can be said for any Lamb of God album).
The Amenta have obviously become slightly overrated compared to the competition, perhaps partly due to a mixture of their unusual ethnicity (Aussie metal bands are comparatively rare) and anti-establishment gothic image that's bound to appeal to the lowest common denominator readers of Kerrang!, though I'm still impressed that the magazine promoted something so fundamentally metal as opposed to the usual trendy rubbish they publicise at the expense of the harder stuff. Their next album promises to be interesting in a conceptual manner, but I'll have to wait and see if the music measures up.
1. Erebus
2. Mictlan
3. Zero
4. Senium
5. Nihil
6. Geilt
7. Sekem
8. Occasus
9. Ennea
10. Sangre
Kurr
**
Written on 13.01.08
Well, this is a bit of a strange album to rate. Amiina, as can be seen from the cover of this debut album, is a quintet of women who play classical music in a very minimalist style, something that often results in compositions where nothing much happens at all. María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, Hildur Ársælsdóttir, Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir hail from Iceland (what gave it away?) and frequently collaborate with the more well-known rock band Sigur Rós to add extra gravitas to their recordings, but taken on their own merits I found the experience very lacking.
Part of the problem is that the compositions are often so short, and lacking in detail, that it's impossible to really get to like them, though to their credit these women have an interesting experimental edge that never allows things to become stale or repetitive. A wide array of instruments are used across these songs, ranging from the core piano and string base (viols and harps) to additional glockenspiel, limited electronic effects and ambient vocals, either in a capella babble or more typical choir. These are all undemanding and relaxing pieces, but also lacking anything to really enthral the listener in this form, and even the longer and slightly more impressive songs like the first single 'Seoul' feel less like an epic composition with a beginning, middle and end, and more like an extended single movement. At the other end of the scale, songs like 'Saga' are pointlessly short at less than a minute in length, without even acting as an introduction to enhance their neighbours.
'Kurr' will doubtless appeal to fans of minimalist classical music, and the band's relative success in finding a record label and releasing an album, as well as their collaborations with other artists, indicate that these are likely some of the top players in their game. It left me disappointed all the same, the most favourable impression I gained from it being the sense that, at some points, I was living underwater and everything was pleasant and gay. Perhaps that's worth buying an album for, I couldn't really say.
1. Sogg
2. Rugla
3. Glámur
4. Seoul
5. Lúpína
6. Hilli
7. Sexfaldur
8. Kolapot
9. Saga
10. Lóri
11. Bláfeldur
12. Boga
Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds
*****
Written on 14.01.08
Amon Amarth's first official recording is classed as an E.P. for its comparatively short playing time, but as these five exclusive songs simultaneously introduce and perfect the Swedish band's distinctive sound, it could rightfully be considered their debut, and an indispensible purchase for melodic death metal fans.
The notion of a 'melodic' branch of death metal is likely to cause some amusement to anyone who has experienced the genre in its most brutal, ear-piercing forms, but as with most off-shoots the transition was fluid and inevitable. Rather than base their grinding guitar riffs, blasting drums and discordant, squealing guitar solos on thrash bands such as Slayer, many death metal performers in the early nineties began to incorporate the steadier pace and dual guitar harmonies of traditional heavy metal bands into their style. The best melodic death bands combined the two approaches and crafted music that was powerful, complex and catchy, most notably from the likes of Dark Tranquillity and Amon Amarth, while others tended to get a little confused and ended up sounding like Iron Maiden with laryngitis.
'Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds' is based exclusively on Amon Amarth's now classic style, captured here in its infancy before the band's energy and creativity waned, and although the subsequent albums 'Once Sent from the Golden Hall' and 'The Avenger' are classics in their own right, nowhere is the band's complexity and vision more concentrated than on this first release. The band is perhaps best known for its almost exclusive focus on Viking themes, tales of battle and Norse mythology dominating the growled lyrics and live shows usually featuring an interval in which Viking warriors would crowd the modest stage and engage in several minutes of sword clashing during the band's titular song. Despite this conceptual focus, and the band's undeniably authentic Viking appearance (they all have long blonde hair and most have accompanying beards), I don't associate their distinctly melodic death metal sound with Viking conquest in the same way I do the so-called 'Viking metal' bands such as Bathory, Moonsorrow and Månegarm, whose folk elements, slower pace and use of ancient language paint vivid pictures of Norse sagas. Nevertheless, in their more laid-back moments, Amon Amarth's reliable rhythms conjure images of a longboat crew setting sail for rape and pillage.
Credit must be given to every member of Amon Amarth for their outstanding performance on this debut, particularly the incredible dual guitar harmonies and powerful riffs of Olavi Mikkonen and Anders Hansson and the perfect drumming of Nico Kaukinen, whose talent at variation and knowledge of when to slow things down keeps the rhythm section interesting and entertaining rather than the simple double bass drum and blast beat assault of many of his lesser contemporaries. Johan Hegg growls his way through the lyrics admirable above the beautiful and harmonious cacophony, not distinctive enough in resorting to the customary masculine roars of all death metal but clearly full of energy and ability at this early point, as evidenced by his frequent screams as each new guitar riff bursts into life. Of course, he has the unfortunate status of being the key ingredient that will put many non-death metal fans off this recording, which they could otherwise appreciate immensely. Last but not least, Ted Lundström's bass work deserves applause simply for being so audible in the first place, clearly heard throughout the recording providing a great backing rhythm for the harmonised guitars that helps to ground the whole thing when Mikkonen and Hansson leap into solos. Hansson and Kaukinen sadly departed after this release (in the sense that they left the band; they didn't die), while the rest have proceeded to essentially replicate their performances for the rest of their successful career.
1. Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds
2. The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter
3. Burning Creation
4. The Mighty Doors of the Speargod's Hall
5. Under the Grayclouded Winter Sky
The album begins as it means to go on by launching straight into a heavy riff performed by both guitars, that soon evolves into the dual harmonies that make this album exceptional and innovative at the time, before every other Scandinavian band decided to copy it. The guitar harmonies are almost reminiscent of Bathory's melancholic melodies in their slowest stages, but for the most part this is tight and powerful, evident even in the controlled solos. It's a difficult task to describe each individual song as they follow very similar styles, which for some listeners will prove to be a disadvantage, but there are enough differences to distinguish each impressive song from the next, though admittedly it takes several listens to define each piece. 'Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds' is the shortest song on here and works as a great introduction, featuring a couple of speed changes and a nice slow solo that set up the sound that the listener will experience for the next twenty-five minutes, and the harmonised lead-out at the end is perhaps its best feature.
'The Arrival of the Fimbul Winter' is a song taken from the band's earlier demo of the same name, though obviously this version is more polished and better executed. Amon Amarth's style is at its peak here, and will not descend for the remainder of the disc, Hegg yelling outside the verses to join in with each new movement. There's a great sense of structure to this song, returning at the end to riffs introduced at the opening, and the dual lead guitars are the perfection of melodic death metal, reminiscent of what Dark Tranquillity were doing around the same time. Much use is made of tremolo picking to add a distinct warbling sound to the speedy riffs, and the time changes are all noticeable without seeming forced. Inaugurating a slightly calmer and more reflective portion of the album, 'Burning Creation' foreshadows the medium speed blaring that would dominate the band's work in the new millennium, while also exuding an incredible atmosphere without needing to resort to keyboards, something I always admire in bands. The guitar solo is something of a release from this more thoughtfully paced piece, squealing and squeaking in a way that harks back to the eighties, but still refined and kept under control before the nice fade-out at the end.
It wouldn't be a Viking album without the trademark sampling of a horse, though the accompanying sound of a cart being towed makes a nice change from the repetitive galloping that worked so well for Bathory, but got old quite fast. 'The Mighty Doors of the Speargod's Hall' has a suitably slower pace similar to the previous song, and seems primarily concerned with maintaining its compelling and - yes - catchy rhythm across the near six-minute playing time, which it does without ever seeming to drag on. Kaukinen's drums are at their best here, and the band never loses its energy or focus. Finally comes perhaps the album's crowning achievement, 'Under the Grayclouded Winter Sky' which beats almost anything they would release later, with a couple of exceptions (such as the excellent 'North Sea Storm'). Fading in slowly with the musicians already playing at full pelt, this is the only song to take full advantage of the dual guitar harmonies as a separate entity, circling around the great vocal melody and rhythm section with a newfound complexity. Every change this song throws up is exciting, from the stopping and starting of the drums to the album's longest and most involved guitar solo, which grinds to a crashing halt for a final reprise of the main riff.
'Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds' may be a short album, but it catches Amon Amarth at its very best, and is certainly an instance of quality over quantity. The perfect and necessary addition to any collection of their earlier albums, all the material is exclusive and the remaster fixes the slightly inferior production values, which I thought were impressive for a 1996 debut E.P. in the first place. Metal fans may find the band a little hard to approach for their reliance on a repetitive sound and lack of distinct chorus sections, but the death metal growls are essentially there to provide a focal point amidst the excellent instrumentation, which is what the songs are really about. Although hard to come by in its original form, pictured here, the E.P. is more readily available on the special 'Viking edition' of 2002's 'Versus the World' album as a second disc, followed by the two earlier demo releases that are also well worth listening to. It may lack Viking authenticity, but this is a classic release of mid-nineties death metal.
Once Sent from the Golden Hall
****
Written on 14.01.08
For their first full-length release, Amon Amarth continue in the style established by their excellent E.P. 'Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds,' tackling exclusively Viking themes in a fast and catchy melodic death metal style, with none of the folk influence of Sweden's own Viking metal genre itself.
'Once Sent from the Golden Hall' is noticeably a step down in terms of heaviness and intensity from its predecessor, making for an album of mostly energetic and fast-paced death metal that aims to be more accessible to the rock mainstream, without yet abandoning this speed in the style of later releases. The main failing of this album compared to the previous E.P. is that it's a lot less concise, as the band's frankly repetitive style results in some later offerings ('Friends of the Suncross' and 'Once Sent from the Golden Hall') failing to really stand-out despite their inherent strength, while the longer and more consciously epic narratives tend to be a little too long, consciously epic and narrative.
This is still first-rate melodic death metal of the old school, before the term and even the bands themselves evolved to mean something sadly all too different, and like Edge of Sanity and In Flames, Amon Amarth puts slightly less emphasis on the heaviness that might deter casual listeners and hopefully attract metal fans who don't normally go in for that heavy stuff. The whole Viking thing also permits this band a neat niche within the genre, and although it feels a little stretched by later albums, the band is obviously committed to the theme beyond a mere gimmick, in the same manner as Alestorm's pirate power metal and the millions of practitioners of J.R.R. Tolkien metal.
This is clear from the onset, as Johan Hegg roars a tale of bloodthirsty vengeance for the death of his family, always legible through the aggressive roar unlike many death bands, and reaches grander heights in 'Victorious March' and the band's titular 'Amon Amarth,' two songs that primarily use the instruments as a repetitive backing track for tales of conquest and victory, the latter even containing a brief sample of swords clashing and bodies falling at its centre. While these are both intriguing and enjoyable songs, making prominent use of Ted Lundström's bass and some nice guitar slow-los, they take on a slightly more ambient manner to the more direct and fun metal of other tracks, tending to outstay their welcome, and aren't ideally suited to a recorded form. Witnessing Amon Amarth live in the flesh, or on their excellent DVD 'Wrath of the Norsemen,' it's clear that these songs really belong in that environment, as Viking stuntmen crowd the stage and turn thirty seconds of sound effects in a long and entertaining interlude while the band nips off to the bar.
The other songs are all more dynamic and varied, Olavi Mikkonen churning out an impressive number of memorable guitar riffs outside of his primary task, relegated to relentless tremolo-picking lead melodies that don't have much opportunity for variation; essentially the guitar equivalent of death metal's mindless double bass drumming, a fate that Martin Lopez escapes due to his kit skills. While there are many great songs, 'Ride for Vengeance' and 'Without Fear' certainly among the best, it's 'Abandoned' that impresses the most for using its extended length of six minutes to far greater effect than the longer and duller 'Victorious March' and 'Amon Amarth' managed, throwing out endless riffs, great solos and numerous structural changes while still making time for an engaging narrative that doesn't demand prominence in the same way. The riff towards the end even references the classic period of Bathory, in what I like to imagine is an intentional homage to the real father of Viking metal, though probably isn't.
1. Ride for Vengeance
2. The Dragons' Flight Across the Waves
3. Without Fear
4. Victorious March
5. Friends of the Suncross
6. Abandoned
7. Amon Amarth
8. Once Sent from the Golden Hall
The Avenger
*****
Written on 14.01.08
Amon Amarth's second album revives the fierce intensity that was sadly lacking on their previous effort. With the death metal foundation back in full force, and epic Viking concepts still as strong as ever, 'The Avenger' is Amon Amarth's finest full-length release, even if that length is a little lacking at only thirty-seven minutes.
My issues with the preceding album all seem to have been remedied, with only the title track feeling overlong and repetitive in its focus on narrative over music, as it's the only song in which Johan Hegg's increasingly confrontational vocal style seems truly out of place, his yells of "Die! Die!" only serving to irritate rather than inspire latent Viking bloodlust in my veins (I'm hopeful that one of my ancestors was ravished at some point). The rest are all excellent death metal songs, incorporating melodic elements perfectly without seeming forced or succumbing to a tamer sound as hindered the previous release. Without any drawn-out, repetitive mock-epics stealing the limelight (apart from the one already exorcised), this is a rip-roaring adventure on the high seas that uses every concisely edited minute to its fullest, in longer and shorter songs alike.
A brief drum intro leads into the album's first harsh death metal riff with stonking bass clunking away above fierce drums, and already it's clear that this will be a fast-paced ride. This is a distinctly angrier album than any other thus far released by the band, and this is enhanced by Hegg's raspier vocal tone as much as the prominence of heavy guitar riffs in place of the endless melodic leads that can become irritating in the rest of their discography. The tremolo-picking frenzy returns in 'The Last With Pagan Blood' which also has some great thrash riffs, and makes effective use of slowing everything down to near silence - carried only by a soft bassline and a heartbeat - before launching right back into the volume. It's a bit of a contrivance admittedly, but they do it well, and repeated listens could even cause neck-hairs and other body parts to stand eagerly to attention for more die-hard fans.
The great thing about these songs is that they never stop moving and re-inventing themselves in unexpected but logical ways, 'God, His Son and Holy Whore' being the most technically diverse with a frenetic pace and multiple guitar changes, and classic guitar solos blasting forth from 'Bleed for Ancient Gods' and especially 'North Sea Storm,' the latter of which has the distinction of being one of my favourite guitar solos in the world. In fact, everything about 'North Sea Storm' is excellent, and really is Amon Amarth at their very best: there's a great contrast between the drums like rolling waves and the hard riffs persevering through, and the lead guitars sneak in between the compelling vocal lines without drawing distracting attention to themselves. It's so strong, there's even a section that gets by with Hegg letting out a sustained yell rather than bothering to write some more lyrics, and it sounds great.
The last two songs of the album are a little less distinctive as usual, the first for being a slightly out-of-place anthem to the glory of metal, but one thankfully packed with great riffs and perhaps a way in for metal fans who have thus far been a little alienated by the Viking stuff, while 'Legend of a Banished Man' closes the proceedings on an expectedly grand note, forsaking the frenetic pace and harsh riffs for a steadier rhythm and sing-along verses but allowing plenty of time for more well-integrated lead guitars and pummelling drums. 'The Avenger' may be one of Amon Amarth's less instantly accessible albums, but it's guaranteed to become a firm favourite for the initiated. Hail to Odin or whatever.
1. Bleed for Ancient Gods
2. The Last with Pagan Blood
3. North Sea Storm
4. Avenger
5. God, His Son and Holy Whore
6. Metalwrath
7. Legend of a Banished Man
The Crusher
****
Written on 16.01.08
Amon Amarth weren't trying to prove anything with 'The Crusher,' and the lack of advancement from their previous two albums will disappoint as many fans as it will satisfy. The album follows the same style as its predecessors, but arguably with less interesting or memorable songs, and is only really distinguished by a shift in production values that lends the whole thing a distinctly Gothenburg sound, something that only serves to rob the band of some of its trademark individuality here without the bonus of extra heaviness or anything else that might be deduced from the album's title. This isn't a bad album by any means, but is the least essential Amon Amarth album of their earlier years, before everything post-'Versus the World' took the band to new disappointing extremes.
The great riffs from Soderberg and Mikkonen are still the driving force, but there are less stand-out riffs here than on previous classics, the exceptions being in the central section of the album with 'The Sound of Eight Hooves' and 'As Long as the Raven Flies,' the latter of which foreshadows the style shift of their following album, and in particular 'Risen From the Sea (2000).' The fact that the most creative and enjoyable song is a reworking from one of their original demos is revealing of the band's laurel-resting at this point (oh no wait, that's Romans isn't it?), that soon turned into all-out boredom masquerading as atmosphere. The most disappointing songs here are those that attempt a more aggressive style and succeed, albeit in a way that smacks more of Dark Tranquillity than typical Amon Amarth, most present in songs like 'A Fury Divine,' before the final track offers something more traditionally death metal as nice relief complete with a frenzy of guitar solos.
I'd like this album a lot more if I hadn't already spoiled by 'Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds,' 'Once Sent from the Golden Hall' and 'The Avenger,' but it's a reasonable enough release before 'Versus the World' ensured that things would never be the same again.
1. Bastards of a Lying Breed
2. Masters of War
3. The Sound of Eight Hooves
4. Risen From the Sea (2000)
5. As Long as the Raven Flies
6. A Fury Divine
7. Annihilation of Hammerfest
8. The Fall Through Ginnungagap
9. Releasing Surtur's Fire
Versus the World
****
Written on 14.01.08
'Versus the World' was the start of a new era for Amon Amarth, achieving relative breakthrough status in the metal world at the same time they toned down the aggression and intensity of their Viking-themed death metal. Coincidence, or shameful change of direction for something more commercially viable? Either way, 'Versus the World' stands out in the discography as the point at which Amon Amarth stopped being exciting, and all their songs started to sound more or less the same.
These nine songs are all very similar in their mid-speed melodic death metal and growled conquest narratives, with the exception of two songs that feature some higher-pitched lead guitars and a slower pace for contrived diversity. Amon Amarth's distinctive sound continues here and is always good to hear, the guitars remaining deep and heavy without much in the way of the unnecessary solos and lead harmonies sometimes associated with melodic death metal, with a tendency to carry off a rhythm through relentless tremolo-picking (that's about the only technical term I know for guitar playing, so it's nice of the band to give me the opportunity to use it ad nauseam).
While the band has remained mostly stable across its continuing career, it's the drummer that has tended to revolve in a Spinal Tap manner with most releases, and here Fredrik Andersson proves himself to be the most interesting member of the band, his rhythms evoking the Ancient Norse imagery much more successfully than the often boring guitars and vocals of Johan Hegg, whose angry growl now sometimes sounds out of place in the newly mellowed music. Ted Lundström's bass similarly gets a greater presence in the spotlight, particularly when the guitars go into the higher sections.
While nothing here matches the high-energy romps of old Amon Amarth classics like 'North Sea Storm,' there are a few songs that stand out above the general mediocrity. Opener 'Death in Fire' is almost the perfectly contrived live opener/closer with its powerful guitar riff, great drums and war-torn lyrics, though it still lacks the energy on disc of the earlier albums, the slightly slowed pace sounding a little distracting. 'Thousand Years of Oppression,' 'Where Silent Gods Stand Guard' and the title track are nice and fairly definitive summations of the band's sound at this point in their ceaseless repetition, slightly unfitting battle lyrics and nice main riffs, while the lighter end is carried off with the central 'Across the Rainbow Bridge' and final '...And Soon the World Will Cease to Be,' seeming a little too planned-out in their positions, both of which are probably the best offerings of the album, mixing lighter lead guitars over the ever-present heavier foundation and effectively giving listeners two for one. It has to be said that they are both pretty similar, and the final song succeeds better in realising what track five didn't quite articulate.
The rest of the album follows the same slow, steady rhythms to the point of tedium, especially as the album enters its second half and Hegg's vocal melodies all start to sound exactly the same. Often cited as the band's magnum opus, presumably by people who haven't heard the earlier stuff, 'Versus the World' marks a distinct shift in approach for Amon Amarth that would lead to a trend of increasingly disappointing albums hereafter. There's a special "Viking edition" of this album with a bonus disc containing the first classic E.P. and the band's two great demos that's worth checking out, but prepare to be disappointed when the bonus disc considerably upstages the main album.
1. Death in Fire
2. For the Stab Wounds in Our Backs
3. Where Silent Gods Stand Guard
4. Versus the World
5. Across the Rainbow Bridge
6. Down the Slopes of Death
7. Thousand Years of Oppression
8. Bloodshed
9. ...And Soon the World Will Cease to Be
Fate of Norns
***
Written on 14.01.08
Even bloodthirsty Vikings need a day off every once in a while, and Amon Amarth's fifth album is a disappointingly half-hearted affair that seems content to follow the same slow, grand and epic style as its predecessor 'Versus the World' without any of the good bits. The usual Amon Amarth ingredients are there: atmospheric guitar riffs, energetic drumming and easily understood death metal vocals growling a compelling Viking narrative, but each area has a fundamental flaw. The guitars are now primarily a background instrument, all but lacking the excellent lead harmonies and solos of the band's previous efforts, while the comparative ferocity of the endlessly clicking double bass drum pedals and Johan Hegg's confrontational yells now seem distinctly out of place. None of these songs accelerate further than a steady medium speed, and although several are still worthy entries into the Amon Amarth canon, the best accolade that can be afforded to this album is that Ted Lundström's bass guitar is a lot more audible now that the guitars have been mostly relegated to white noise.
The opening intro of 'An Ancient Sign of Coming Storm' is full of hope that this album will be as epic as the last, but this hope is dashed once the song has been playing for over a minute and it becomes clear that what appeared to be a tastefully slow and arduous intro is in fact the main driving riff of the song. This is the style of almost the entire album, and Hegg deteriorates from a bored growl in the first song to a basic spoken word in the second, only bothering to affect a slight gargle as he sits down and reads from his Bumper Book of Viking Myths & Legends. These opening songs feature some good guitars in small doses as usual, but at no point do they match the power of even the most pedestrian heavy metal band, and there's no sign of reaching out in the opposite direction for an epic, either.
Fortunately, the centre holds some greater prizes with the title track, an overlong and repetitive song that would be equally dull if not for the excellent warbling guitar riffs that really are enough to carry this thing across. It's one of my biggest disappointments with this album that all the guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Soderberg need to do to impress me is mess around on the fret board and churn out another of their timeless riffs, but there's a distinct lack of even that most basic effort in most of these songs. 'Fate of Norns' tells a great, sad story with a nice chorus surging in-between, and is catchy and fun enough to stand proud as long as you hold out hope that it will only be the first in a long line of great songs, which it sadly isn't.
Only 'The Pursuit of Vikings' and 'The Beheading of a King' measure up for bringing the guitars to the front for once and grounding themselves in some heavy riffs, the latter song being particularly notable for really engulfing the listener in its plodding barrage in a way that the rest of the album really should have lived up to. It's only these three songs that use the slow speed to their advantage; the rest just do it to be lazy. 'Valkyries Ride' actually angered me in its drab inciting of a Valkyries to flight, and I may or may not have yelled "put a bit of f***ing effort in!" at the speakers, and all that can be said of the seriously overlong and tedious 'Arson' is that it makes time for some rare guitar solos near the end, all of which are, predictably, slow.
This really is quite a disappointing album, particularly compared to the band's ferocious early efforts such as 'The Avenger,' and it seems that either a negative fan reaction or the band's own creative process has all but written off this era as a mistake, the more recent 'With Oden On Our Side' being a slight (but not entirely successful) return to form. These Swedes seem to have been engaged in a slanging match with power metal band Hammerfall for a good few years now, and although Hammerfall's discography tends to be more squarely on the crap side, this may be the one battle lost to the Viking horde.
1. An Ancient Sign of Coming Storm
2. Where Death Seems to Dwell
3. The Fate of Norns
4. The Pursuit of Vikings
5. Valkyries Ride
6. The Beheading of a King
7. Arson
8. Once Sealed in Blood
With Oden on Our Side
***
Written on 14.01.08
When Amon Amarth released their long-awaited follow-up to the disappointing 'Fate of Norns,' publicity had raised hopes of a return to the glory of their early days, a conscious breaking away from the niche they had unfortunately forged for themselves as an increasingly dull, repetitive and unoriginal melodic death metal band whose Viking concept was becoming ever more stretched. Sadly, the seal remains unbroken, and 'With Oden on Our Side' is the least compelling Amon Amarth album yet.
The greatest disappointment here is that not only has Amon Amarth lost the energy and spirit of their earlier releases, but now they've even started to lose their distinctive sound as well, with around half the songs on this album sounding like good but generic melodic death metal that could have sprung from any Swedish band, with songs like 'Asator' in particular sounding more like modern Dark Tranquillity. Amon Amarth does need to progress its sound to avoid becoming stale and unpopular, but blending into the scenery and losing their once distinctive touch can't be a good thing, particularly as the world doesn't need another bog-standard Dark Tranquillity clone right now.
Despite apparent claims to the contrary (though maybe I just imagined it), this album is grounded in the same slow- to medium-speed as its predecessor, and its finest moments only manage to measure up to the best of 'Fate of Norns' rather than surpass it, as I had hoped. The title track 'With Oden on Our Side' inaugurates a better second half of the album after the mostly forgettable first, taking on the same warbled guitar tone Amon Amarth are famous for but never really coming up with a memorable guitar riff to match, and 'Cry of the Black Birds' is probably the best offering here for embracing the gradual rhythm and turning it into a successfully evocative battle narrative complete with a traditional heavy metal gallop that's always helpful in visualising a war scene. Unfortunately, it's this same reliance on old-school tricks that makes the more melodic songs like 'Under the Northern Star' sound distinctly un-like the usual darker tone of this band, and more like a bland Iron Maiden forgery with a hoarse throat.
With the guitars all but written off here, and the bass oddly lacking the presence it had in the previous album, it's Fredrik Andersson's drums that are the album's only real saving grace, making the most of the slowed pace and avoiding the usual death metal curse of hammering double bass drums to maintain a fast rhythm. It's only the drums that carry off attempted epics like 'Hermod's Ride to Hell,' ambitiously sub-titled 'Loke's Treachery Part 1,' which is otherwise a really boring narrative song that may be lyrically compelling, but is crying out for a more energetic and mostly instrumental second half that I hope will be provided on the next album. Even the more standard fare of 'Valhall Awaits Me' and 'Gods of War Arise' lack the power of old Amon Amarth, and attempts to remedy this through blaring, tuneless power chords only increase the band's camouflage as a melodic death imitator, rather than one of its most prestigious fathers. Last and least, 'Prediction of Warfare' is just depressingly mediocre.
Amon Amarth had already slipped with their previous album, but this failed return to form may indicate that their golden age really is behind them. There isn't even the excuse that they may be striving for a more epic Viking sound, as the Dark Tranquillity and Iron Maiden elements contradict that goal - and besides, then they'd just be another Swedish Viking metal band in the style of Månegarm, but not as good. Amon Amarth's gradual fall from grace may be an appropriate parallel to the historical demise of Viking civilisation, but I wouldn't know about that. I just like the Vikings' metal.
1. Valhall Awaits Me
2. Runes to My Memory
3. Asator
4. Hermod's Ride to Hell (Loke's Treachery Part 1)
5. Gods of War Arise
6. With Oden on Our Side
7. Cry of the Black Birds
8. Under the Northern Star
9. Prediction of Warfare
Phallus Dei
I Hear Enki Coming
***
Written on 14.01.08
One of the less historically significant releases of 1969, but one of my personal favourites, 'Phallus Dei' is Amon Düül II's first album since they became Amon Düül II. Previously, the band had experienced a turbulent and intriguing existence as a loose, freeform, psychedelic jam session for various German musicians, until the most level-headed ones decided to stop the tomfoolery and release an album that's quite mad.
Spewed from the primordial soup of prog rock's not-so -humble beginnings, this is an avant-garde release still based primarily around psychedelic jams, but also bearing traces of what would later be affectionately termed "krautrock." The first half of the album consists of four tracks of varying lengths up to eight minutes, and the second half is entirely taken up by the title song. The band doesn't concern itself with some of the ambitious and often downright vain lyrical concepts of later prog albums from the likes of Genesis and Yes, and is content to revel in its own weirdness, eager to see the result. The band's core psychedelic sound of spacey guitar and bass riffs over rolling bongo percussion is supplemented by keyboards, organs, violins and saxophone to enhance the exotic flavour, and it's hard to listen to the album without instinctively coughing and waving the non-existent vegetable smoke from your face.
While these songs largely sound like jams, there's a strong element of control by the band, displayed prominently in 'Phallus Dei' where the keyboard-drenched atmosphere of random guitar noise, accelerating percussion and ad-libbing choirs are all reined back in every four minutes or so into a "proper" song with a strong, stable rhythm that inevitably deteriorates again quite rapidly, so the same thing happens again. The psychedelia is much the same sound practiced by many bands of the time, notably Jefferson Airplane and early Pink Floyd ('Phallus Dei' is like a weirder and busier 'A Saucerful of Secrets'), but the oddness could only have come from the continent, heading off on similar tangents to Focus. It's not all tomfoolery (though that does figure prominently), with the first song in particular being the straightest of the lot before track two introduces a zany organ and wild Arthur Brown style vocal exclamations that make no sense even when they suddenly start speaking English towards the end, though the high notes are only reached in the short closing song of the first half.
This isn't a sound that's dated well, mainly in terms of the disappointingly quiet and hazy production that fails to really distinguish the guitars but does admittedly add to the detached experience in its own way, but this pleases me. Not all albums should sound as hard as the seventies, as synthesised as the eighties, as polished and minimalist as the nineties or whatever it is that people are doing these days, and it's nice to know you're listening to what the crazy people of olden times used to listen to. The German idiots, they must have been mad! An interesting release.
1. Kannan
2. Dem Guten, Schonen Waren
3. Luzifers Ghilom
4. Henriette Krötenschwanz
5. Phallus Dei
Advantages: Fun, wild, psychedelic early krautrock.
Disadvantages: Loose but repetitive structure makes it seem amateurish, and not all experiments are successful.
Reptile Ride
Mother-effing Reptiles on a Plane
***
Written on 14.01.08
The most recent effort from Amoral is a good example of what melodic death metal ought to have sounded like all along: heavy guitars and drums with harsh vocals, complimented by an appropriate lead guitar presence that makes sense, rather than sounding merely like a tribute to 80s hard rock that conflicts with the album's intended effect. 'Reptile Ride' is a solid release, but nothing very special or individual, coming over a decade after this precise sound had already been perfected by Dismember.
Amoral's sound lies towards the heavier and less melodic end of melodic death metal, but retains the customary harsh vocals that are applied across the board. Vocalist Niko Kalliojärvi is fine in the role, but fairly repetitive and lacking any kind of distinctiveness, but at least he doesn't fool himself into thinking he can sing as many similar vocalists do - the only instance of clean vocals comes very briefly in 'Mute,' while his genuine muteness later on makes the instrumental track a particular highlight, despite similarly lacking creative flair. He also indulges in a strange and not entirely welcome bit of spoken word in 'Few and Far Between' that I was worried was going to descend into rap, but still lacked any of the meaningful gravitas that was presumably intended.
In some instances, notably the first track, there seems to be a bit too much going on to keep track of, really being due to some incompatible styles being played against each other in unsuccessful experiment. A few songs incorporate lead guitars well into their sound, such as the second and fourth tracks and the instrumental in which they take on a more significant role, but 'Few and Far Between' is spoiled by a particularly ceaseless and overly repetitive guitar melody. The bass can only really be heard in the instrumental (it seems they're between bass players right now), but this isn't really an issue, and Juhana Karlsson's drums almost entirely fall back on the machine gun style that keeps all of these death metal albums consistent, if a little lacking in character. The power metal keyboards are similar to the guitars, in that sometimes they add a pleasant lighter side to the heavy music, but occasionally play an irritating, jingling melody that really gets on my nerves; despite the apparent invitation to indulge in cheesy theatrics in the instrumental, titled as it is 'Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Fun,' they play it with straight professionalism and come off well.
'Reptile Ride' is another run-of-the-mill melodic death metal album that doesn't try anything too extreme, but could fill in as a reasonable substitute when your more impressive death metal albums become a little stale. At least Amoral have the right idea when it comes to combining elements in this fashion.
1. Leave Your Dead Behind
2. Nervasion
3. Hang Me High
4. Mute
5. Few and Far Between
6. Snake Skin Saddle
7. D Drop Bopo
8. Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Fun
9. Pusher
Advantages: Competent melodic death metal without the rubbish bits.
Disadvantages: Rather bland all the same.
The Karelian Isthmus
****
Written on 15.01.08
Amorphis' debut album establishes their distinct Finnish style of melodic death metal that would be expanded on in their definitive follow-up 'Tales from the Thousand Lakes,' but is spoiled a little by poor production values and extensive borrowing from other bands, however coincidental it may be - after twenty years of heavy metal, you're bound to run into some coincidences.
As one of the pioneering melodic death metal bands of their day, before disappointingly leaving the metal world far behind, Amorphis' take on the blended style incorporates interesting and enjoyable nuances of the local folk tradition, though thankfully this mainly extends to the catchy rhythms of the drums and lead guitar rather than the more oppressive and daft excesses of polka metal a la Finntroll. This exotic flair, enhanced by the folkloric themes, would be more successfully realised in the second album, as 'The Karelian Isthmus' is still essentially rooted in a traditional death metal formula, consciously incorporating the slower tempo and harmonic guitar styles of classic heavy metal and thrash, the similarities to Iron Maiden and Slayer ('The Lost Name of God') being respectively apparent on various melodic and heavier offerings. That's not to say that the band lacks originality however, with Koivusaari and Holopainen's guitars spawning a series of excellent, highly memorable riffs in every song.
An unfortunate major concern comes in the album's production quality, which really isn't all it could be, owing to their fresh presence on the metal scene. The sound is generally quite muddy, far above the quality of a home-produced demo tape - the instruments are all distinct and you can actually hear the bass, for a start - but still not quite matching up to the band's ambitions, something that's especially obvious in the heavier songs like 'Black Embrace' and the otherwise excellent 'The Pilgrimage,' where the crunching guitars and dull drums lack a certain intensity. As has been demonstrated on countless raw black metal albums however, fuzzy production still lends a characteristic grind to the guitar tone that works well as a darker counterpart of American thrash, and the prominent lead guitars that dominate many of the slower tracks avoid being inappropriately high and weak, which can be a major failing of melodic death bands that screw up the delicate balance between heavy music with lighter touches and a mere Iron Maiden sound-alike with rasping vocals (see the sliding career of In Flames over the course of the nineties for the definitive example).
Koivusaari's vocals fall into the range of death metal growl that has always pleased me the most, not being overly hostile or ludicrously guttural, but effectively being a more or less comparable down-tuning of the traditional mid-range rock/metal singing style to correspond to the deeper tone of the other instruments. This does of course mean that he rarely stands out, and is consistently overshadowed by the fine instrumental collaboration between the two distinct guitar styles (often playing against each other in perfect use of the two players), bass guitar that becomes particularly prominent when both guitars are off doing their thing, and Rechberger's slap-happy drums that would best be described as fun, within reason. The band skilfully shifts to and fro between their customary medium speed and faster, more energetic bursts - in the case of the thrashy finale, lasting for an entire song - and many tracks remain distinctive enough to remember after a single listen.
On the negative side, Amorphis' range is still a little limited on this release, perhaps signalling their dissatisfaction with the style that wasn't long coming, and I was a little disappointed that after hearing entertaining traces of a particular Iron Maiden guitar melody in 'Warrior's Trial,' the sound was repeated in a more or less plagiarised form two songs later. This is all forgivable for being a first album, and one of the pioneering works of a burgeoning sub-genre, and thanks their unfortunate career change, this still remains their second-best album.
1. Karelia
2. The Gathering
3. Grail's Mysteries
4. Warrior's Trial
5. Black Embrace
6. Exile of the Sons of Uisliu
7. The Lost Name of God
8. The Pilgrimage
9. Misery Path
10. Sign from the North Side
11. Vulgar Necrolatry
Privilege of Evil
*****
Written on 15.01.08
'Privilege of Evil' is a very interesting, almost hidden gem in the early discography of Amorphis, important not only for the band itself but for Finnish metal and wider death metal as whole, due to its lasting legacy. It's really quite surprising that this sound followed 'The Karelian Ithmus,' which was an interesting and enjoyable album in a slow and attempted epic fashion that wouldn't really sound credible until the subsequent album, but this takes a drastically opposite direction in reaching firmly for the violent and brutal side of early nineties death metal.
The speed here varies between Amorphis' typical slower tempo and a more aggressive, thrashy direction, and the songs are about as different as can be in the band's early style, even veering into a gore direction with the tellingly titled 'Vulgar Necrolatry,' featuring a guest vocal performance Abhorrence's Jukka Kolehmainen. The band is at its very best here from a technical point of view, Tomi and Esa's guitars conveying a wide range of styles and emotions with more success than most death bands, and Tomi's vocals avoiding the irritating screeching or overly hostile mannerisms of his contemporaries, relying primarily on a satisfying growl everyone can enjoy (can't they?)
This is a classic E.P. that will especially surprise those whose familiarity with Amorphis is limited to their later, softer releases, but even those who regularly listen to the epic, fable-inspired doom of 'Tales From the Thousand Lakes,' which is all but absent here apart from in the couple of songs repeated from the first album. This would have made an incredible album, but as a twenty-five minute E.P. of six songs it's not exactly on the short side, and its comparative (but not genuine) rarity and obscurity lends it an exaggerated sense of the exotic.
1. Pilgrimage from Darkness
2. Black Embrace
3. Privilege of Evil
4. Misery Path
5. Vulgar Necrolatry
6. Excursing from Existence
Tales from the Thousand Lakes
*****
Written on 15.01.08
Amorphis' second album is a refinement of the first and one of the classics of melodic death metal, and sadly remains their last predominantly metal achievement before deviating into other areas foreshadowed by the clean vocal touches and electronic aspects of this album. As with 'The Karelian Isthmus,' the music is gloomy, a tad epic and uniquely exotic, the guitars seemingly taking influence from the Finnish folk tradition or at least something that marks them out as distinctive from the other, mostly Swedish melodic death pioneers. While the vocals continue to growl in a less aggressive way than many death metal bands, this is enhanced by the addition of distinctive clean singing in tracks two, five and seven before they take over fully in the chanting instrumental 'To Father's Cabin.' Coupled with the prominence of keyboards, both in a spacey tone and less agreeable Hammond organs that don't so much enhance the mood as shatter it, this is atmospheric and relatively soothing melodic death metal that avoids most of the pitfalls of the genre.
While some of the songs still fail to stand out compared to their neighbours, there are enough memorable riffs here, infused with an Eastern twang, to mark out the finer tracks, and while 'First Doom' seemed to be lacking only a prominent chorus, this is subsequently provided in the next track, the melodic and grand 'Black Winter Day.' The instrumental side of the album is granted sufficient release for indulgence in the second half of most songs without them ever seeming too long, and this leads to more diverse and inventive songs such as 'The Castaway' and 'Forgotten Sunrise,' the latter of which is heaven for fans of slow and thoughtful guitar solos.
While it doesn't plunge too deeply into the emotive excesses of doom metal, this is quite a sad and mournful album, enhanced by the violin-like keys of 'In the Beginning,' but most songs such as 'Drowned Maid' will maintain a steady and approachable drum rhythm to keep things from becoming too self-involved. In fact, the only real time the album slips up is in the finale 'To Magic and Mayhem,' which experiments with some really irritating techno elements that dissipate the atmosphere so effectively built up over the course of the album, though this does at least make it easier to get out of the chair and go on with your day than if the proceedings had ended on a high note and left the listener wanting more of the same from a band that would never be this good again.
1. Thousand Lakes
2. Into Hiding
3. The Castaway
4. First Doom
5. Black Winter Day
6. Drowned Maid
7. In the Beginning
8. Forgotten Sunrise
9. To Father's Cabin
10. Magic and Mayhem
Black Winter Day
**
Written on 15.01.08
After the fantastic death metal performance of 'Privilege of Evil,' it seemed Amorphis were focusing more on the polished, epic side of things for their full-length albums while allowing themselves freedom to unleash some violent and experimental death metal in the shorter releases, though this single-album trend unfortunately stops dead here. Released in the interim between Amorphis' earlier death metal days and the melodic rock of their subsequent efforts, this makes for a less than comfortable listening experience partly for the contrasting styles, and also because the material is just so weak.
'Black Winter Day' starts things off well, and this is essentially an extended single release of that song, one of the more memorable and certainly the most accessible of the previous full-length 'Tales from the Thousand Lakes.' It showcases pretty much everything Amorphis was about in the early days, though without the harsher side that's thankfully rekindled for a last outing in the later tracks here, but it fares less well when separated from the album in this way. It's commendable that the band didn't simply fill the remainder of this E.P. with further 'Tales' material or tedious re-mixes, but the original material on offer here is of considerably inferior quality to the albums, something usually expected of B-side material but disappointing considering the quality of the band's output thus far.
The three tracks essentially form the 'Moon and Sun' suite, the short instrumental 'Folk of the North' effectively being a brief intro as it's referenced later on, and while it's satisfying at first to hear the older, more raw and dingy death metal of 'The Karelian Ithmus' revived, this proves even less satisfying than even that album's weakest material, leading me to believe it's an unused piece that's been gathering dust for some time. Kasper Martenson is the leading force across this "trilogy," his piano-styled keyboards replacing Esa Holopainen's guitars on occasion and foreshadowing the band's subsequent change of direction, but in the end it's all a lot less satisfying than should be expected of an early-nineties Amorphis epic. It's forgivable as something of a sidelined release outside of their main discography, and it makes a nice collector's piece (especially with that nice owl cover, a little reminiscent of Rush), but it's about as non-essential as Amorphis gets. I'm just glad I don't have the vinyl version where Tomi Koivusaari butchers The Doors' 'Light My Fire.'
1. Black Winter Day
2. Folk of the North
3. Moon and Sun
4. Moon and Sun Pt. II: North's Son
Elegy
****
Written on 15.01.08
Having proved their death/doom metal credentials with 'Tales from the Thousand Lakes,' Finland's Amorphis boldly (and questionably) opted for a rather drastic change of pace over the course of their subsequent albums, at its most effective in the first offering of their new style, 'Elegy.' Rather than the epic folk tales of the Kalevala that had worked so well for the band in the past, inspiration this time turns to the poems of the Kanteletar, one of the ingredients for a potentially more moving and emotionally resonant album, and a promise that 'Elegy' delivers on to some extent.
There are very few death metal traces remaining here outside of Tomi Koivusaair's occasional growls and his faster guitar performances alongside newcomer Esa Holopainen that nevertheless forsake any real heaviness, and the band seems to draw most of its inspiration here from classic progressive rock, without much of its trademark excess; the only sections of the album that qualify as genuinely strange are the more folk-based jig sections that end up being some of the most worthwhile and entertaining creative decisions indulged in. While the new prog direction will doubtless annoy less open-minded fans of the band's earlier material (I guess that includes me, then), their pop transformation is still incomplete and this album boasts some of the band's finest material, albeit in a smaller proportion than something like 'Tales' or 'Privilege of Evil.'
For a start, it's primarily the song 'Cares' that still proves Amorphis has what it takes as a metal band, and that their evolution is a creative choice rather than a lapse. This song is faster, as are a couple of others such as 'Against Widows' and 'Relief,' and the vocals are surprisingly and very noticeably performed by Koivusaair's growling alone. 'My Kantele' was the album's prominent single and is justly accomplished, beginning with death vocals and gradually evolving into the lighter, sung second half, and it deserves extra credit for not standing out as jarringly and unsatisfyingly as an Amorphis single could perhaps be expected at this point. Its acoustic companion tagged onto the album's end makes for a nice furtherance of the style and a different perspective, but I prefer the peasant wail of light electric guitar leads.
For all of these fun and engaging songs, it's the gloom of 'Elegy' that works the best for me, more grief-stricken and compelling than any of the doom attempts from 'Tales,' and genuinely progressive to boot. It's a shame Amorphis didn't opt to focus more exclusively on a doom direction from this point on, rather than being absorbed into more mainstream rock as happened around this point for the bands that started out as death-based doom (most prominently Anathema and Katatonia, and obviously Amorphis itself), but the change of direction earned them an entirely new fan base across a successful career while those that despised it can still find satisfaction in the early albums. Everyone's a winner really, it makes you wonder why I complain so much.
1. Better Unborn
2. Against Widows
3. The Orphan
4. On Rich and Poor
5. My Kantele
6. Cares
7. Song of the Troubled One
8. Weeper on the Shore
9. Elegy
10. Relief
11. My Kantele (Acoustic Reprise)
Tuonela
***
Written on 15.01.08
Amorphis is a band that consistently surprises me, not only for its drastic changes of direction with every album, but the talent that comes with it. I expected to severely dislike 'Tuonela,' and while I'm admittedly not as fond of its keyboard-driven, atmospheric rock direction compared to the guitar-heavy 'Elegy' and the death metal of their older releases, it's suitably progressive for my tastes. Any metal fans lured by the promise of its title, the Finnish folkloric equivalent of hell, will be sorely disappointed by their most inoffensively pleasant album yet.
Although a blander and typically nineties form of prog, the music here still takes plenty of influence from the classic era of the seventies, with diverse instruments working their way into the mix as the band sadly leaves their slight folk roots almost entirely behind, salvaged only in the flute sections of 'Rusty Moon' and 'Nightfall,' the latter of which is the album's most inherently experimental offering and the appearance of classic prog saxophone, which would have sounded positively bizarre in any previous album. Amorphis' metal days are now firmly left in the past, with only Tomi Koivusaari's growl in 'Greed' showing any signs to newcomers that this band may not be what it seems. Pasi Koskinen now handles almost the entire album's singing duties, and although his voice is fairly good in that medium-range, emotional way, it sounds a little showy to me at times.
There's nothing particularly wrong with this album, but it fails to really hold my interest even as an atmospheric rock effort, especially compared to some superior bands out there, and the emphasis on maintaining a stream of sound rather than cracking out some great riffs and stuff is the main reason there are very few stand-out songs, the exceptions being the aforementioned 'Nightfall' for its slight zaniness, 'Rusty Moon,' opener 'The Way' which starts things off promisingly, and closer 'Summer's End' which works nicely to draw things to a close.
After years of considering Amorphis to be one of those great metal bands that wimped out and strayed into a disappointing commercial direction, I've come to regard them as a satisfyingly varied outfit with a number of very different successes across their discography. But still one that was best off doing metal, as recent trends harking back to the good old days would seem to indicate. All the same, the people who love this album won't find another as good in their catalogue.
1. The Way
2. Morning Star
3. Nightfall
4. Tuonela
5. Greed
6. Divinity
7. Shining
8. Withered
9. Rusty Moon
10. Summer's End
My Kantele
Kanteletar
***
Written on 16.01.08
Amorphis had a habit of releasing an E.P. after each of their early albums, made up of existing album material and off-cuts, and while 'My Kantele' doesn't break any new ground in the style of 'Privilege of Evil,' the material and covers are a lot more satisfying than its predecessor 'Black Winter Day.' Again, the major emphasis is placed on the most potentially radio-friendly song from the related album, in this case 'My Kantele,' and the rest of the material acts as an extended single that fortunately doesn't fall back on tedious re-mixes or basic live extracts, but makes for a wholly enjoyable listen, even if it's again quite obvious why the B-sides were never A-sides.
'My Kantele' is one of the better Amorphis songs produced after their departure from a death/doom metal direction, and the acoustic interpretation takes this one step further, sounding as natural as the album's original electric version. It's primarily the guitars that are replaced, the rest of the instruments remaining albeit in a slightly dulled fashion, and with its haunting tone and elements of classic prog rock and folk (a Hammond organ and an accordion respectively), it's a sign of a band still dedicated to the cultural heritage that had played such a major part in their early days. The Finnish folk tradition continues in the two-part 'The Brother-Slayer,' this E.P.'s version of Black Winter Day's 'Moon and Sun,' which is better than that predecessor but still not up to the standards of 'Elegy,' and after this come two interesting and highly deviant covers that see the band branch out further into prog territory by covering classic Hawkwind material and a song from their Finnish contemporaries Kingston Wall, that sounds a lot better and more restrained than that band's later material with which I'm more familiar.
An E.P. doesn't need to boast the same consistency as an album, and is in some ways a means for a band to mess around or throw out some extras for the fans that would clash with a more reputable full-length recording, and for containing an accessible album track, slightly obtuse B-sides and random covers, 'My Kantele' is just about the most stereotypical E.P. in existence. Its only real failing is that the acoustic version of its title song had already been included as standard at the end of the 'Elegy' album, which serves to rob this release of much of its charm and individuality and could have easily been remedied to make it more collectable and essential for fans. Never mind; taken in its own merits it's still a strong Amorphis release and, proportionally speaking, their most heavily folk- and prog-based offering.
1. My Kantele (acoustic reprise)
2. The Brother-Slayer
3. The Lost Son (The Brother-Slayer Part II)
4. Levitation (Hawkwind cover)
5. And I Hear You Call (Kingston Wall cover)
Advantages: Interesting covers and a more prog/folk side shining through.
Disadvantages: Acoustic version was already on the album, and the rest isn't brilliant.
Story: 10th Anniversary
****
Written on 16.01.08
Ten years is as good enough excuse for a best-of as any, and with four acclaimed albums and other material under their Finnish belts, the (presumably) belt-wearing Finns of Amorphis provide this little present for the fans of Amorphis who may be wearing belts or not. The whole belt thing isn't really important and I don't want to get dragged into this debate too much, but there's a not a lot else to say about a pretty standard and unexciting compilation such as this.
The most commendable thing about this release is the fair overview it provides, stretching as far back as the first album with several choice morsels plucked therefrom, rather than merely concentrating on the very different material from the most recent 'Tuonela.' It's the diversity of Amorphis' albums that makes a collection such as this both fascinating and difficult, as eras are dipped in and out of in a more or less random fashion, one second with a heavy death metal riff and growling from Tomi Koivusaari, the next light atmospheric rock under Pasi Koskinen. Only the most dedicated Amorphis fans will find no flaws with the album, but for everyone else it's likely to be a case of favouring one extreme over the other. In the interests of fairness, whoever compiled the album has tried to ease the transition by taking the most songs from the 'Elegy' album, which wasn't exactly transitional itself but was at least a more honest middle-ground tilted in favour of the newer style, but possessing a few of the metal elements along with the folk aspects of the earlier releases.
Amorphis' discography boasts a number of E.P.s running alongside the main album lineage, and the lack of much material from these shorter releases is understandable, as they were mainly comprised of B-sides and covers, along with a song already present on the longer album that preceded it. Only 'The Brother-Slayer' is a cut from Elegy's 'My Kantele' companion, and it balances out the acoustic folk rock side of things quite nicely despite not being one of the better choices, but the biggest disappointment for me comes in the lack of any material from the excellent and highly individual 'Privilege of Evil' released between the first two albums in 1993. While the furious death metal might have upset the more casual listeners of this album, its significance and oddness in the Amorphis chronology demands inclusion on a collection such as this, at the very least as a sampling of further rarities for fans to go out and buy. 'Black Winter Day' is similarly overlooked, but I can't disagree with that decision.
The only offering present for long-time fans is a live version of 'Cares,' one of the best songs from 'Elegy' and the one that bridges the divide between old and new Amorphis most successfully, but the rest of the collection faces the usual problems of any collected work like this: favourite songs are missing, and some that were more significant representations of the band are ditched in favour of songs that only prove the same points already made. With sixteen songs from four albums (and one E.P.) it's a decent collection of Amorphis material and more than enough as a sampler for newcomers to decide which path to venture down next, but with many further albums and the twentieth anniversary only a couple of years away now, 'Stories' was only ever destined for a short shelf life before being consigned to the fate of a less significant collector's item.
1. Black Winter Day
2. Against Widows
3. Tuonela
4. Grail's Mysteries
5. The Castaway
6. My Kantele
7. The Way
8. The Brother-Slayer
9. The Orphan
10. Exile of the Sons of Uisliu
11. On Rich and Poor
12. Divinity
13. The Gathering
14. Drowned Maid
15. Summer's End
16. Cares (Live)
Am Universum
***
Written on 16.01.08
If 'Tuonela' was the point of no return for metal-band-turned-prog-rock Amorphis, 'Am Universum' is merely a disappointing continuation of that same style that mainly serves to highlight just how good they used to be when they didn't sound like this. It's not necessarily a problem that Amorphis has ceased to be a metal band, especially as it opens them up to a new audience, but the prog rock direction is a lot less inspiring - particularly as the band's record label and image still seem to be implying something a little more hardcore.
The music is now dominated by the duet between Pasa Koskinen's singing and Santeri Kallio's keyboards, as everyone else takes a significant back seat. The introduction of Sakari Kukko's saxophone helps the prog atmosphere along, and is quite interesting, but still doesn't make up for the lack of decent guitar riffs or leads from the formerly excellent Tomi Koivusaari and Esa Holopainen duo. Without Koivusaari's backing growls to spur him on, Koskinen is more content to maintain a soft and distinctly dull singing style throughout, which even manages to be pretty annoying even in the best songs like 'Alone,' where his gravelly whine reminds me of that bloke who voiced Leonardo in the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' and Kaneda in 'Akira' (who am I kidding, I know his name's Cam Clarke).
In fact, 'Alone' is the best song by far, and was the easy choice of single due to its more powerful style and the actual presence of guitars, but it was a mistake to place it so early in the album to raise listeners' expectations of what the following forty minutes are going to sound like. 'Am Universum' isn't a bad album, though it certainly is by Amorphis' high standards, but it's not particularly interesting, and the dominant vocal whine even prevents it from being very successful relaxation music. Of all the bands that started out metal, then deviated into bland atmospheric rock directions, Amorphis are still among the least worst.
1. Alone
2. Goddess (Of the Sad Man)
3. The Night is Over
4. Shatters Within
5. Crimson Wave
6. Drifting Memories
7. Forever More
8. Veil of Sin
9. Captured Stake
10. Grieve Stricken Heart
Chapters
****
Written on 16.01.08
You know a band's getting a little desperate when they release two similar best-of compilations within three years, increasingly demonstrating how much better they used to be in the good old days. While 'Story' was a self-proclaimed '10th Anniversary' release in 2000, 'Chapters' is the first to feature new material from the disappointing 'Am Universum' album and the first to arrange all of the songs in reverse chronological order to offer a true retrospective. So that makes it justified, obviously.
While I can't condone such obvious cash-in releases, this can't help but be a very interesting album thanks to the inclusion of much of Amorphis' finest and extremely varied work, entirely from the first three to four albums before they lost it. As with 'Story,' there's no attempt to privilege the more recent works against older material, and in fact there are three songs from the first three albums compared to only two each from the more recent releases. The 2003 studio album 'Far From the Sun' was released less than a month before this collection, and the lack of any brand new material from that studio lack-of-effort is either due to commercial considerations, or simply taste. I'd hope for the latter, and it at least means listeners are spared pickings from the weakest Amorphis release to date. While 'Story' seemed a little pre-emptive at covering a band with only four major releases under its belt, 'Chapters' is more entertaining at five.
Amorphis' musical career can be tellingly followed in a backwards fashion here, and anyone who misinterprets the song styles moving on from bland atmospheric prog rock through to folk-influenced prog metal and even some good old-fashioned death metal at the end as the true career path of Amorphis is sadly being optimistic. As a fan of the earlier works I clearly favour the latter half of the album, though the stuff from 'Elegy' and 'Tuonela' is still very good (if a bit obviously chosen), and perhaps wary of angering fans by re-selling songs they already own, a few choice B-sides are tactfully inserted along the way, though these were all previously available on singles or E.P.s attached to the respective albums. 'Too Much to See' is from the most recent Am Universum era ('Alone' single), 'Northern Lights' is from Tuonela ('Divinity' single), 'The Brother-Slayer' harks from Elegy's 'My Kantele,' and 'Moon and Sun' is from the ancient 'Black Winter Day' release. None of these are particularly good as they're fairly representative of what B-sides are all about; stuff that sounds similar to the album material, but not as good. The compilation suffers as a result.
But let's not despair, there's a second disc of five Amorphis music videos that are alright, though not particularly enchanting (and nothing you can't just watch on YouTube these days), and the main interest here comes in the acoustic version of 'My Kantele.' Although this is a better and more skilfully arranged collection than the hasty and short-lived 'Story,' my major complaint with that earlier release is even more relevant here in the face of all these B-sides: where on earth is the 'Privilege of Evil' material? That early E.P. is one of the most essential Amorphis releases for metal fans, and would have caused a nice stir towards the end amidst the dinginess of 'The Karelian Ithmus.' No matter; Pasi Koskinen would leave Amorphis before the next studio album, which adds further relevance to this collection as a concluding summary of his time in the band, and the frankly better stuff they produced before he even came along.
1. Alone (edit)
2. Drifting Memories
3. Too Much to See
4. The Way
5. Northern Lights
6. Summer's End
7. The Brother-Slayer
8. Better Unborn
9. My Kantele
10. Weeper on the Shore
11. Moon and Sun
12. Black Winter Day
13. The Castaway
14. Drowned Maid
15. Warrior's Trial
16. Exile of the Sons of Uisliu
17. The Lost Name of God
Eclipse
****
Written on 17.01.08
Amorpis' first album with new frontman Tomi Joutsen sees a long-awaited return to their melodic death metal origins, while not abandoning their more recent forays into a mainstream style of gothic prog rock. Although the contrast is often extreme, songs like 'Perkele (God of Fire)' sounding exactly like 'Tales from the Thousand Lakes' material while 'House of Sleep' sounds more like effeminate goth band HIM, 'Eclipse' is a step in the right direction for Amorphis even if it's not really clear where the next step will end up.
Esa Holopainen's guitars reclaim all their former glory here in the memorable mid-speed melodies of most songs, exploring acoustic territory on numerous occasions in the slower, near-ballad songs that comprise roughly half of the album and adopting folk, Eastern and Celtic influence respectively in three of the best songs, 'Leaves Scar,' 'Perkele' and 'Brother Moon,' while remaining satisfyingly simple in the heavy and plodding 'Two Moons.' Joutsen's vocal style is equally compelling, mostly opting for a croon similar to Southern United States stoner rock bands (complete with unnecessary indoor sunglasses) but experimenting with a long-unheard death growl in tracks three, six and nine. This doesn't necessarily make those songs heavier though, and 'Brother Moon' in particular incorporates the growl into its melodic doom style in a manner that's barely noticeable.
As always with Amorphis, even the slowest and most thoughtful songs are provided a catchy and accessible drum beat at some point to keep them from becoming too indulgent, and the use of additional instruments such as flutes in 'Leaves Scar' and various keyboard styles keep each song individual and potentially interesting to fans of progressive rock. True to the Amorphis of old, the album once again draws on the Finnish epic the Kalevala for its lyrical concept, this time concerning the tragic fate of Kullervo. The ambition never exceeds the musical content apart from perhaps in the slightly overlong finale 'Empty Opening,' which bears similarities in its vocal stylings and staggered, reggae-style guitars to Finnish prog band Kingston Wall, but balanced out by the simple stoner rock of the opening song, several soft offerings and a couple of old-school melodic death/doom pieces to please the long-time fans, this is a surprising and excellent release from the Finns as they re-enter the metal community.
1. Two Moons
2. House of Sleep
3. Leaves Scar
4. Born from Fire
5. Under a Soil and Black Stone
6. Perkele (The God of Fire)
7. The Smoke
8. Shame Flesh
9. Brother Moon
10. Empty Opening
Crucify E.P.
**
Written on 15.01.08
There you go, I'm reviewing a pop album of a woman singing at a piano. I have to shake things up a bit every so often to artificially keep from being predictable and anyway, it's not so different from some of the more loosely-defined "metal" albums I've reviewed recently. And I wasn't only attracted to it by the sight of an apparently nude woman wearing a spring onion necklace and nothing else on the cover, because I don't have a vegetable fetish, definitely. Look at that coquettish smirk, she knows what she's doing, the North Carolinese minx.
This E.P. is essentially an extended single of the song 'Crucify,' presented in a remixed form that I don't have an original to corroborate, one of many examples of the singer-songwriter-pianist's seeming indifference to having her works endlessly messed around with in pursuit of commercial gain. I could make a sexist joke with the word pianist as its centre, but I shan't bother. Of the four other songs, 'Winter' is taken straight from the 'Little Earthquakes' album, and the other three are all covers of famous songs by famous bands, a particularly pointless endeavour. The sound across these twenty-one minutes is fairly consistent piano-based pop of the soft and inoffensive kind, the first two songs having a more consciously catchy, sing-along edge and enhancement through background orchestration making them ideally suited for poaching by Hollywood, and the final three songs are more isolated, bleak affairs between a woman and her piano, trying to inject deeper meaning into rock songs that were all good enough in the first place.
Tori Amos' distinctive voice is what carries the listener through these pieces, over her occasionally expressive but mostly unimaginative piano accompaniment. The first is bound to be the most polarising, with those unsuited to pop such as myself finding its more sing-along moments grating rather than inspiring, but it's a reasonable song that essentially repeats itself over without embellishment after the half-way point, for those who fancied another lap.
The rest of the album tends more towards a predominantly thoughtful tone, and her voice experiments to a degree after presumably feeling a little intimidated by the subtle choir presence in the second song, leading to brief higher sections on the Rolling Stones' 'Angie' and all-out squeaking in Led Zeppelin's 'Thank You,' making the finale noticeably less relaxing than its predecessors and demanding attention the way opera singers do, though less bombastically. Her piano playing is most enjoyable in the downbeat 'Winter,' which is at least her own material, using the high and low ranges with equal and distinct measure, before fading into the background later on. This album clearly strives for a melancholy mood without being too severe, and although it's generally successful, songs like 'Angie' tend to become more or less background music through their subtlety.
Of course, as a modern rock fan, it's Amos' cover of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' that provides the greatest interest here, and is predictably disappoints in quite an enormous way. It's obvious what she's gone for, but covering the most iconic rock song of the time, itself only released the previous year, demands something pretty special to have any impact, something this lacks entirely. The sparse, lonely atmosphere remains from the previous song, which is about the only positive thing it has going for it, beginning with an unrecognisable piano melody that she's either made up from scratch or adapted from the original guitar and drums to unsuccessful effect, and only raising awareness that it's a cover once some of Kurt Cobain's familiar lyrics drift in on the wistful, wordy breeze. It's all too easy to envisage this slow and quiet take on the song being played over a blandly sentimental slideshow of black and white images of the dead singer in various states of depression (he still had a couple of years left in him at this point), and the lyrics really don't adapt well to the radical change in style. Not only is a little disappointing to finally hear those slurred words being clearly articulated, but without the manic delivery there are some key segments that fall completely flat, leaving a woman playing a piano saying "hello" a few times. A non-essential release at best, and offensive at worst.
1. Crucify (Remix)
2. Winter
3. Angie (The Rolling Stones cover)
4. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana cover)
5. Thank You (Led Zeppelin cover)
Alhana - Az Utolso Bard ***
Alice in Chains - Sap ***
All Souls' Day - Into the Mourning ***
Alta Densidad - Fenix **
Altar - In the Name of the Father ****
Alter Bridge - Blackbird ***
Am I Blood - Agitation **
Ambehr - Sword's Song ***
Ambeon - Fate of a Dreamer ****
Amethystium - Evermind ***
Amorphis - Far From the Sun **
